JOHN MOYERS

About this artist

Moyers grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the son of Cowboy Artists of America painter, William Moyers.  He had a natural affinity for art, and he grew up surrounded by paintings and sculpture during his formative years.  He studied at the Laguna Beach School of Art and the California Institute for the Arts on a Walt Disney Studio scholarship.  But it was in 1979 that Moyers was invited to attend a month-long workshop at the Okanagan Game Farm in British Columbia, led by another Cowboy Artist, Robert Lougheed. These workshops were one of few places where an artist could study traditional techniques for painting deer, musk ox, and other wild animals from real life. That workshop proved to be a turning point for Moyers and his art. The experience of painting ‘plein air’ day after day was a truly eye-opening experience in the way he approached a subject and in the way he captured it on canvas. The workshop was also where he met his future wife, Terri.

In the ensuing years Moyer’s career has progressed steadily, earning him recognition at the Prix de West Show at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, and at the Masters of the American West Show at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles.  Having been a member of the Cowboy Artists of America since 1994 and served as president of the group, he also exhibits at the annual Cowboy Artists of America show at the Phoenix Art Museum.  He has received top awards for more than seven years running at the CAA exhibitions in both oil and water soluble media.

He paints American Indians, cowboys, themes from Old Mexico and New Mexico, and landscapes. “I paint what excites me. Maybe for two months all I want to do is landscapes, then maybe Native Americans and then Mexican pieces.” Moyers also says, “The more you paint, the more comfortable you get with the process. Hopefully, I’m improving all the time.”

Moyers and his wife, Terri, and their son, Josh, live and paint in Santa Fe, New Mexico, while continuing to make annual pilgrimages to Canada where they never fail to be inspired by the rugged beauty of the northern landscapes of the American continent.