Demure 2017

Terri Kelly Moyers made this painting, 'Demure', in the 20th century, using what looks like oil paint. The approach to colour here is subtle, the palette restrained, but that doesn't mean it isn't a feast for the eyes, the longer you look, the more you see. The texture in this painting is something else, isn't it? The way the light catches the gold of the fan, the dull lustre of the dress, and the shadowy depths of the shawl. Moyers doesn't hide the process, you can see how the paint is worked, how the brushstrokes build up the form, and how the details emerge from the shadows. Take a look at the floral design on the shawl, there's a looseness there, a freedom that speaks to the joy of painting itself. She reminds me a little of John Singer Sargent, but with a contemporary twist. She uses a similar bravura technique. Art isn't about fixed meanings, it's about the ongoing exchange of ideas, and the ways we see the world anew.