Scenes from Oregon Back Roads

The Art in the Valley Gallery downtown Corvallis is hosting Michael Moore as the "artist of the month" in April. Join him over a glass of wine during Corvallis Art Walk on April 19th starting at 5pm.

The majority of Michael's pastel paintings on display at the Art in the Valley gallery are from mid-valley, back road scenes. Recently, he'd drive around with a camera on board looking for unusual or striking images that caught his eye.  Those photos became the inspiration for the artwork featured in this show.

Michael works mainly on sandpaper surfaces, made especially for pastel artists.  He loves to sit down in front of his easel with an array of pastel sticks nearby. He’ll begin by lightly sketching in a drawing, and then adding various colors working from the top down.  He tries to work loosely without becoming too involved in tiny details, until later. He likes sharp contrasts between light and dark, while trying to maintain correct color values.  One of his primary goal is to bring the viewers’ eyes into, and through the painting.