Past Artist Series Interview | Anna Moore

Hailing from the rollings hills of Pennsylvania, artist Anna Leigh Moore earned a degree in journalism and fine arts and promptly took a job as a railcar porter on a westbound train after graduating in 2013.

From the moment she glimpsed the ragged mountains, shimmering sage, and sun-bleached deserts of the West that now inspire her art, the trajectory of her life was forever changed. “It was the first time I was west of the Mississippi,” Moore said. “When we got to the Rockies it was so shocking and impactful that when I got home I decided to move to Winter Park and learn how to ski.”

Moore put her art career on pause to spend several years chasing snow and adventure throughout the expansive landscape of the American West. During that time she developed a lasting passion for backcountry skiing, mountain biking, and rock climbing.

East End by Anna Moore

Then in 2018, Moore decided to put down roots in Park City, Utah so she could put pencil and paintbrush to paper as a professional artist creating stunning depictions of the landscapes she has come to know and love so well.

She shows her artwork at CreatePC, The Kimball Art Center, participates in art festivals around the Mountain West, and now designs killer topsheets for our custom skis.

Read on to learn about what drives her as an artist and athlete in our full interview with Anna Leigh Moore.

Aspens by Anna Moore

Interview

WAGNER: Clearly, the Western landscape made an impact on your life, but how does it influence your work today as a painter and illustrator?
MOORE: I may differ from other artists in that I feel like I have a split life because I love being outdoors and physical activity, but I also love the quiet of painting. It’s taking those raw, intense experiences you feel in your body and then turning them into paint. I feel like this landscape kind of demands a physicality to interact with it, so it’s this really cool cycle of playing and adventuring that takes you to those beautiful places that then feeds into the art, and it keeps circling. I like the flow of playing outside and being able to share what I see in paint. Without the landscape, my painting and my life would be pretty boring.

WAGNER: As a painter and illustrator, do you have a favorite artistic medium?
MOORE: Watercolor, definitely. My grandmother was a watercolor painter, so it’s probably the first medium that I ever used. It just flows. It feels like home to me.

WAGNER: Is that what you used to create the Aspens topsheet?
MOORE: Yup. All the Wagner designs are watercolor. I feel bad for anyone who ejects those skis in a grove of Aspens, ha!

Wilson by Anna Moore

WAGNER: What’s it like putting your artwork on a pair of skis?
MOORE: It’s really cool! It feels like a culmination of this dream that I’ve been chasing when I moved out west, not knowing how to ski, not knowing if I could become an artist, and then getting over those fears both to have the ability to ski any mountain and have the confidence to put my art out in the world is really cool.

WAGNER: Do you feel like your ability to get over those fears and be confident still translates to your work as an artist and your pursuit of skiing?
MOORE: Absolutely. I think the fear is always there if you’re trying something new, whether that’s a creative idea or a physical challenge, so I like the metaphor of skiing in my life as a challenge I was able to overcome by myself, figure it out, and now the big challenge is making my art career as big and beautiful as I can.

Skintrack by Anna Moore

WAGNER: What empowers you to continue to overcome those fears?
MOORE: I think it’s just practice. Not being afraid of falling, or looking cool — ‘cause sometimes ski culture and the art world can feel elite and exclusive. Don’t be afraid of what people think and try your best, because eventually, your best will become something you’re proud of.

Like what you see? Check out the other artists in the series:

Lauren Poppie
Molly Scannell
Lava Glass
Christopher Warren

See more of Anna's work on her website.

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Words by Katherine Englishman