Welcome To His “Last Show”

Until recently, he still said Sunday mass at his Holy Name of Mary parish. But his holiest work fills the walls of his packed, exhaustingly hot art studio in a business park in San Dimas. Father Bill Moore, who I’ve had the honor of meeting and working with, knows his calling: creating magical acrylic paintings on canvas, and sharing them with everyone. He lives to paint — and says his art “makes him a better priest,” and his faith “makes him a better artist.”

Some of his larger works sell for as much as $14,000. But he has always wanted to make his work accessible, so he makes smaller, more affordable pieces for $100 as well. But Father Bill never sees the collectors’ checks. As a member of the Order of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, he took a vow of poverty, years ago. In exchange for his artwork, clients pay the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts. “I won’t touch a check with my name on it” he says.

He is a tender, loving, gentle soul. An artist at heart, and a teacher by vocation. The paint splattered all over his jeans and shoes shows how every fiber of his being is about creative expression. He told me he almost always incorporates tiny treasures he finds on the street: pieces of screen, bolts, slivers of metal and wood. (Pic #3) The details matter to him. — In art, and in life.

We once went to a local bakery where we shared a plate of sweets, and he made a special trip back up to the counter to make sure they had one more treat left to bring back to his friend RIch at the church.

Like his artwork, Father BIll is an original. One-of-one. It’s no wonder he was the only one in the seminary who insisted on minoring in fine art. That was a new one for his superiors.

While his current exhibit at The Progress Gallery in Pomona is billed as his “last show,” I don’t like to acknowledge that it might be. I prefer to think his paintings will always be living representations of his creative soul —- and that every paint stroke, pebble, every splash of color —- was made specifically for me. I have to keep the connection. It just might be the most religious experience I’ve ever had.