VINCENT OWEN MOON
Vincent Moon was born in Comox, British Columbia, on March 4, 1971, and was raised in Courtenay, British Columbia, on beautiful Vancouver Island. He started showing an interest in Native artwork at a very young age and to date, continues his passion for Aboriginal creativity through his own pieces which includes jewelry, totem poles, masks and other intricate items.
Vincent’s first foray into the art world began with basic pencil and paper drawings which quickly sparked his desire for more challenging mediums. In turn, he began painting on canvas with the assistance and guidance of Nancy Stewart, a local artist who had taken a great interest in Vincent’s talent. Vincent continued his tutelage in paint and canvas until the fall of 1994; at this point, he decided to challenge his creative talents even further by exploring his abilities to work in the wood medium.
In October of 1994, Vincent began his education and knowledge of carving in Alert Bay, birthplace of his maternal family. In the basement of the local school, three Alert Bay artists, A.J. Scow, Leonard Scow and Rupert Scow Jr. took Vincent “under their wing” and helped him to learn the finer points of carving. Although the Scow’s introduced Vincent to the creation of West Coast masks, Vincent has not confined himself to just these masterpieces. Since 1994, his talent has been allowed to blossom and today, Vincent has a large repertoire of pieces he is capable of creating.
Although Vincent uses a variety of materials in the creation of his artwork, he has a preference for yellow and red cedar as his base wood. Once he has brought his concept to life, Vincent uses acrylic paint to enhance and detail each piece. In addition, he may dress the mask using such materials as cedar bark, feathers, abalone and horsehair. Occasionally a mask must represent wealth, and as copper actually represents wealth when it is used on a mask, Vincent has even had the opportunity to use this medium for several of his creations.
Vincent’s latest passion has become working with silver. Although this is a recent endeavor, he has made several pieces of jewelry including rings, necklaces and toe-rings. He hopes to eventually become as adept in this line of artistry as he is in his others.