It started modestly enough in the spring of 1981 when John Walker painted a small seagull in the corner of one of Roxann Moore’s misty seascapes. The collaboration grew until John and Roxann abandoned their individual works to devote all of their creative energies to the paintings they signed "Walker Moore".

"Ironically, our early joint efforts were not considered acceptable in some exhibition venues," says John, "so we allowed the fictional Walker Moore to become a person." Over the years, that "person" became a thorough fusion of two distinct styles which, when merged, became a unique "third style" that only exists because of their collaboration.

Husband-and-wife team efforts, while not uncommon in film, theater, music and dance, have always been rare in the visual arts. Records indicate that couples as far back as the 14th century worked as illuminators, providing decorative illustrations for manuscripts. In the intervening centuries, painterly collaboration occurred in many highly organized and successful studios, though it was usually conducted by a master painter assisted by specialists or apprentices. Collaboration between equals, in the manner of Walker and Moore was extremely rare. Rarer still is the way John and Roxann set aside their early attempts at specialization in exchange for the freedom to work together on every part of every painting by modifying, painting over, and adding to each other’s brushstrokes. Even John’s red-green color blindness cannot impede the shared effort, as he contributes an opinion on values (a scale of light to dark) to the colors mixed by Roxann.

In the mid-eighties, Walker and Moore focused their attention on the stark architectural subjects that, along with their unique style, have become a trademark of their work. Roxann likens them to an "empty stage in a theater, a place where the imagination of the viewer is invited inside to complete the painting". With this deliberate effort to draw the viewer into the final act of creative collaboration, they allow perceptions of the work to change and evolve over time, shifting with the mood or light. For this reason, the artists seldom render actual locations, finding this common approach too constraining. Instead, they give viewers the complete freedom to remember, imagine or dream. While traveling widely in search of ideas, Walker and Moore take the unusual approach of layering the new designs, materials and colors they find on top of earlier discoveries, producing composite images made from bits and pieces around the world.

In the interest of preserving domestic tranquility, John and Roxann long ago decided to take turns while painting, rather than work simultaneously. As they trade the painting back and forth, usually ten or more times prior to completion, each has complete freedom to change, or add to, any part of the work. Not surprisingly, the results are unpredictable. This lack of certainty does not trouble them, however, and they find it both stimulating and challenging to return to a painting that has changed in their absence. Nor is their creative expression limited by their choices of a painting medium. Casein is the least used of the water mediums which, though difficult to master, in patient hands, can be highly versatile and expressive.

Roxann Moore holds a degree in Fine Art from Howard Payne University. John Walker studied Art at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

Currently the Walker Moore collaboration can be enjoyed at Grimshaw Fine Art/the variant gallery, an established gallery featuring fine art for everyone, located at132 Kit Carson Road, Taos, N.M. 87571. 505.758.4949 * 800.638.5169.