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The landscapes are big – really big – in Texas Hill Country. The dramatic rock bluffs, miles of large oaks, and wild open country are enough to lure any artist out to capture it in paintings. Cowboys are a dying breed, but around here they’re real.
Moss paints the scenes he’s grown up with. This is country he knows and loves and it is the faces of the locals and the wide-open spaces that invade his imagination.
This artist was a football coach, high school principal, and athletic director. Combining the two talents of art and coaching created a unique situation within itself. During the winter months of 1980 he acquired a few brushes, paper and books and set out teaching himself the difficult medium of watercolor. The selling of his paintings started almost immediately. He also won awards in several art shows. Some of these include the San Antonio Art League Spring Show, J.R. Mooney Debut in San Antonio and the Humble Art League in Humble, Texas.
Born in West Texas, the son of a preacher, his family moved quite often. He loves the out of doors and his family always had horses and cattle.
Evident in his paintings is his love for the Western way of life coupled with a fascination with the culture of the American Indian.
“Exposure to range cattle and the cowhand’s way of life started, for me, in my early life. I’ve been recording their activities on paper and canvas ever since. From the Texas Hill Country to the Western mountains and plains produce fascinating backdrops for the cowboy’s activities. The experiences of riding and working alongside cowhands with my dad and on ranches in Texas enabled me to gather reference materials, sketches and photos and has always been a source of great satisfaction.”
After many successful years in the coaching profession, Moss has completed another lifelong dream of opening a gallery of Western Art, The Gridiron Gallery. He is now living the life of that great dream, an Artist of the West.
(915) 247-3013 Email: jmoss13@aol.com