Gallery Moab has re-opened its doors with limited hours. We are currently operating Thursday through Sunday from 3 pm to 7 pm, but soon hope to increase our hours as we continue to practice recommended safety measures such as masks, social distance, and hand sanitizing. During the month of July, Gallery Moab is pleased to feature gallery member, Larry Christensen, and Guest Artist, Becky Thomas, a local photographer and painter.

Larry lives in La Sal, Utah, but grew up on a small farm near Moore, Idaho. Larry talks of his interest in art from an early age. It seems the teachers and principal at Moore Elementary were quite taken by his innate talent as they went out of their way to mentor him with basic drawing skills which included shading and perspective. Once his family moved to Salt Lake City, he studied art throughout high school and eventually earned a BA and MFA from Brigham Young University. He stayed on to teach Drawing, Watercolor, Oil Painting, Art History, Figure Drawing, and Humanities for 10 years. Larry also taught at what is now Utah Valley University.

Of his work, Larry said, “I’ve won some Best of Shows, and some other prizes in my career, have been honored to judge in the Utah High School Sterling Scholar Art Contest, and several other shows. I have works in permanent collections at the Utah State Capital, State and County Buildings in Utah County, and the Springville Museum of Art.” Larry has shown his dramatic oil paintings and watercolors at Gallery Moab since its inception in 2014. When visiting the gallery on a day he works, you will find him sketching, painting a portrait, or a lovely watercolor landscape.

Becky Thomas, a resident of Moab since 1976, got started in photography at the age of 10 when her father gifted her a Kodak Brownie Twin in its official yellow box. She still has it in her camera collection. Since that time, she has taken a “gazillion” photos, many printed from film and now in boxes, and many more on her computer. She says, “I was never much interested in the tech side of photography, but I’ve happily embraced the simplicity of the digital age.” Her photos include variations of nature, discarded items, and an occasional person. In contrast to her photography, she started dabbling in acrylic pours, also known as ‘pour painting’ after seeing a YouTube video by the ‘original’ pour painter, Holton Rower. Becky says, “It is much less controlled than photography, creating an abstract view and providing practice for letting go. I basically just hope for a happy accident.”

We hope you find time to visit our bright and spacious new gallery space at 59 S Main Street, #1. In addition to paintings and pastels, we have a pleasing assortment of crafted items including ceramics, wood carvings, metal sculpture, jewelry, textiles, cards, and prints. The gallery continues to offer handmade cloth masks for sale. Proceeds from the masks go directly to the gallery to help with operating costs.

Please visit our website for updates on our hours www.gallerymoab.com or call 435-355-0024. Visit us on Facebook and Instagram. And be sure to mention you read about Gallery Moab in Moab Happenings.
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