Football is said to be an art form in itself; players move acrobatically down and across the field creating idyllic images in the fleeting moments of a play. We see these awe-inspiring images only as they speed by, hoping for a second slow-motion look, but artist Daniel Moore takes these fleeting images and creates paintings that Alabama fans have collected and coveted for three decades.
“I try to communicate a positive message to all who see my paintings, not just document a game like a picture does,” Moore said. “There is some of my heart and soul in every painting that I do.”
Having grown up with an art teacher for a mother and an avid sports fan for a father, Moore, 57, has been interested in both art and sports since his childhood. To him it only made sense to mix the two.
“Dad kept me in cleats and a baseball glove while Mom kept me with crayons and water colors,” Moore said.
Moore has been painting images of Alabama football since the 1979 Sugar Bowl, when the Crimson Tide’s famous goal line stand inspired him to quit his job as a staff artist for Alabama Power and paint full-time. Since then, his paintings have become fixtures on the walls of Alabama fans across the country.
“The Alabama football art market was something that didn’t really exist, and since I already loved both the Tide and art, I was happy to kind of pioneer and develop it,” Moore said.
Moore’s newest work will feature Alabama’s latest Iron Bowl victory with an image of Trent Richardson evading an Auburn defender to score a touchdown in what Moore calls a “Heisman caliber run.” He hopes for the painting to portray the message “Never Again,” a vow Coach Saban made to the team following Auburn’s comeback victory in 2010.
“I couldn’t think of any better example of the determination they showed than Richardson’s run,” Moore said. “It has all the elements.”
From the muscles in Richardson’s arms to his facial expression, Moore does everything in his art deliberately. He said he wants people to look at it and immediately see the determination with which Alabama played that entire game. To Moore, that’s the big difference in art and mere photos of games.
“The subject matter for that game lends itself to art,” Moore said. “Some of our greatest lessons are learned through mistakes and our vows not to repeat those mistakes.”
Moore understands that there is a bit of a misconception that he only does art that focuses on Alabama football. Since teaming with the United States Sports Academy in 2006, Moore has painted an image of whatever their selection committee determines to be the winner of the “College Football Game of the Year Award.” The selections have featured everything from Appalachian State’s win over Michigan in 2007 to Auburn’s victory over Oregon in the National Championship Game last year. Moore said this work broadens his outreach.
While currently he is busy at work with his latest piece, “Never Again,” Moore said that if Alabama wins another national championship this year, he is sure to paint an image celebrating the win.
“In a word, absolutely,” Moore said.
