It was a kindergarten teacher’s concern for the emotional wellbeing of her student. That’s why Cherry Moore’s mother was summoned to school that day. “Do you like the black drawings?” they asked Cherry worriedly.
But Cherry’s drawings weren’t black. That was just their protective coating. Before, her teacher would always tell her to change her drawings in some way. “So I decided to draw it how I liked it then color over it in black so she couldn’t make me change it,” Cherry explains.
Years later, the abstract painter and printmaker still defies the norms, but now she doesn’t have to conceal her artwork. “For me, it’s color, balance, and emotion,” she said. Varied creative processes stoke Cherry’s passion and fascination. “Canvas is more visceral, while printmaking is much more analytical.” Cherry’s paintings are acrylic on canvas and board, and her printmaking includes collagraph and monotype techniques. She considers her approach to be experimental. “I have to try things. So much of it is quite often a surprise.”
Cherry Moore is this month’s Featured Artist at Gallery 621. Her expanded exhibit runs from February 7 through March 3, and a reception is slated for Saturday, February 9, from 4 to 6pm. Gallery 621 is one of Benicia’s most enduring membership-run galleries, with a focus on original, contemporary fine art of various media, from painting and printmaking to 3D ceramic sculpture.
Photo courtesy of the artist Reveal by Cherry Moore |
In January, three new artists joined as Gallery 621 members: Valerie Raven, a Napa artist whose 3D work is in the fanciful dollmaker's tradition; Ken Cook, a Vallejo artist whose abstractions, acrylic on canvas, depict his intimate relationship with his environment; and Randall Sexton, a contemporary California painter of landscape, still-life, and figures.
Visit Gallery 621 at 309 First Street in Benicia, during the hours of 12 and 6, Thursday to Sunday. More information is online at gallery621.com, or contact the gallery at 707.297.6860 or g621crew@gmail.com.
