Black Bird 2016

Terri Kelly Moyers made this painting, Black Bird, using fine brushstrokes and a muted palette. I imagine her working slowly, delicately building up the image through careful layers. It feels like a painting of a memory or a dream. The figure is positioned away from us, almost as if we were standing behind them. The large shawl drapes across the body, a canvas for the black bird motif that lends the work its name. See how it is rendered with a deliberate simplicity? It reminds me of a Matisse cut-out, or even a child's drawing. The material of the shawl has been translated into a series of marks and patterns, each swirl and curve suggesting the texture of embroidery. Painters are constantly drawing inspiration from one another across time. Moyers seems to be referencing the old masters, and yet there is something distinctively modern about the artist's approach. As with all great painting, meaning remains elusive, inviting us to return again and again, each time finding something new.