Maureen Moore, of Shelburne Falls, is a retired History professor who came late but enthusiastically to the brilliancy of watercolor and acrylic paints. She considers herself fortunate to benefit from the tutelage and example of exceptionally talented local artists such as Walt Cudnohofsky, Paula Gottlieb, Louise Minks, and fellow members of the Deerfield Valley Art Association. She also studied with Tom Tiedmand, Jan LaFazio and others when living in California.
As a watercolorist, she is always on alert for subjects to paint. About a year ago, when visiting friends in California she went with them to the famed San Diego Zoo. While touring the zoo, she recalls the guide repeatedly identifying species who were in danger of disappearing from the wild. “I was amazed,” she says, “by how many there were and impressed by their beauty.” Thinking they were wonderful artistic subjects and their plight was worthy of recognition, she began researching reference photoes and information about their conservations status. The research proved aesthetically rewarding, but also philosophically and politically sobering as she became aware of the full extent of human displacement of the Wilderness. Maureen hopes these watercolor portraits will give viewers a pause to reflect on both the beauty and the vulnerability of our wild relatives.
The story is not all grim, however. There is much to celebrate in the awakening consciousness of and support for our obligation to protect wild species and their habitats. A mulitude of organzations exist now, around the globe, allied in defense of all things Wild. In this regard, native denizens of the Connecticut Rover watershed are beneficiaries of the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which was “established [by the US Fish and Wildlife Service] in 1997 to conserve, protect,and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the 7.2 million acre Connecticut River watershed. Currently, the refuge is comprised of over 36,000 acres within parts of the four watershed states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.” In support of this refuge, Maureen will be donating to it 10% of all proceeds from this exhibit.
Currently, she has moved on to a new project, a series celebrating "All Things Local", in which she examines her small town environs with a close eye for the pleasure of it.
Maureen’s work is exhibited locally at Salmon Falls Gallery, the Center for the Arts in Northfield among other venues and also online at Fine Art America, Zazzle, and Pinterest. Her website mosartstuff.biz is home to Mo’s Art Stuff and also to her book design business, the Ginger Cat’s Booksmyth Press. The Booksksmyth converts manuscripts, for self-publishing authors, into print-ready book formats with arful cover designs as well.
