Expertise with Visual Rhetoric: The Art of Don Moore
Don Moore is an artist based in Salisbury, North Carolina whose decades-spanning practice includes a wide variety of realistic subject matter. Outside of his artistic practice, Don has been a long-time teacher and educator, and his artworks capture an expertise with visual rhetoric honed by practice and teaching others.
I really enjoy the style that Don employs in many of his works, one that finds a nice balance between observed realism and slight, gestural abstraction. Though the artist does not always disclose the medium used in his pieces on his portfolio, there seems to be representation here for everything from oil paint to watercolour to acrylic to pastel. The deft skill with which Don is able to utilize his chosen media, whatever they may be, and maintain a cohesive visual rhetoric throughout numerous series and years is quite impressive.
I also appreciate the way Don uses colour -- the artist doesn’t shy away from highly saturated tones, and in his more abstracted works occasionally goes all-out with pigment. More often, though, there’s an emphasis on warm, earthy hues that speak to an appreciation for the natural landscape and the human form.
