Cover Story
For nearly five decades, Alabama artist Daniel A. Moore has captured moments that Crimson Tide fans never want to forget. A goal-line stand. A game-winning kick. A championship-winning touchdown pass. More recently, even a 369-pound offensive lineman rumbling down the field after catching a screen pass. But one of Moore’s newest releases tells a different kind of story—one that has been 40 years in the making. This year, Moore unveiled The Harvest, the long-awaited companion to his 1986 Christian painting The Sower. The two works are now being released together in new editions, pairing the familiar Biblical imagery of sowing seeds with the promise of an abundant harvest. For Moore, the paintings reflect a faith that has been as much a part of his life as the sports art for which he is so widely known. “I’ve always used the platform of the Alabama art to share the Gospel,” Moore said.
Roots in Christian Art. Moore painted The Sower in 1986, depicting Jesus’ Parable of the Sower. In the piece, a farmer walks across a field at twilight, scattering glowing seeds of light. Rocks, weeds, and thorns around the field represent the different conditions described in the parable, while the light of the seeds symbolizes the Word of God. The painting was unusual for Moore because he could envision it before he ever put brush to canvas. “On The Sower, that was one where the vision came first,” he said. “And that hardly ever happens.” Usually, an image or event sparks an idea that Moore then develops into a carefully constructed composition. This time, the image itself seemed to arrive. And almost as soon as The Sower was completed, Moore began wondering what might come next. “I had it in mind and was always asking, ‘What would be the next one?’” The answer was the natural continuation of the story: the harvest. Four decades later, that idea has finally become The Harvest. It shows the same farmer returning to his fields months later. This time, dawn is breaking over the landscape, and a plentiful crop stretches before him. The Sower draws from Mark 4:14-20, while The Harvest reflects Jesus’ reminder that “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” Moore says many longtime collectors already have an earlier edition of The Sower, but a new printing technology that provides greater color and detail makes these current releases different. He estimates that The Harvest painting required about three months and potentially thousands of hours of work. He even had to interrupt the project to work on another painting—something unusual for an artist who describes himself as a “tunnel-vision guy” once he becomes immersed in a piece. “I was happy with it,” Moore said, “but it may have been the hardest one to do.” The landscape also allowed him to draw from several artistic influences, incorporating realism, romanticism, and even touches of surrealism. “I love God’s creation,” he said. “I get so inspired by so many things that I think, ‘I’d like to paint that.’” Click here to watch videos that share even more details about The Sower and The Harvest.
Painting Football History. Of course, mention Daniel Moore to many Alabamians, and the first images that come to mind involve crimson jerseys rather than Biblical scenes. Moore has been documenting sports history on canvas since 1979, when he released his first limited-edition fine art print, The Goal Line Stand. The painting commemorated Alabama’s legendary defensive stand against Penn State in the Sugar Bowl that clinched the 1978 national championship. His career grew from there. Moore has created commissioned works for organizations including the SEC, MLB, NFL, NBA, USGA and PGA, as well as universities and major bowl games. The U.S. Postal Service commissioned him to create paintings for its 1997 “Legendary Football Coaches” commemorative stamp series featuring Vince Lombardi, Paul “Bear” Bryant, George Halas and Pop Warner. In 2005, the United States Sports Academy named him Sport Artist of the Year. But his most beloved paintings have grown out of moments familiar to generations of Alabama families. One is The Kick, commemorating Van Tiffin’s 52-yard field goal that gave Alabama a 25-23 victory over Auburn in the 1985 Iron Bowl. Moore watched the game with his late father, August “Gus” Moore. On their drive home, he turned to him and said, “Well, Dad, it looks like I’ve got the subject matter for my next painting!” Decades later, another unforgettable championship moment became Second & Twenty-Six, depicting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith to defeat Georgia in the 2018 National Championship Game. His more recent Krispy Screen continues the tradition, commemorating Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor’s memorable reception on a screen pass in the Tide’s 24-21 win against Georgia just last season. “For football paintings, I see the play, and that’s the spark for the vision,” Moore explained. When a television camera captured an LSU defender diving toward Alabama running back T.J. Yeldon in a 2012 battle between the Tigers and Tide, Moore saw the defender making a Superman-like dive. “I knew that’s what I wanted to do,” he said. Those initial sparks, however, are only the beginning. He especially focuses on composition–attempting to create a piece that will guide the viewer through the action on the field. “I want to kind of tell the story and lead the eye, to take the viewer on a visual journey,” he said. In addition to the Crimson Tide, Moore has painted iconic moments for teams including the Auburn Tigers, Georgia Bulldogs, Arkansas Razorbacks, LSU Tigers, Ole Miss Rebels, and more.
A Platform for Faith. While sports art eventually became the larger market for Moore and New Life Art, Christian imagery has been present since the earliest days of his professional career. In fact, his first published work was a poster inspired by Isaiah that he created for Alabama Power Company. Over the years, Moore has sometimes incorporated Gospel messages into the material accompanying his Alabama artwork. His longtime friend Dr. Gary Cramer, Director of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) at the University of Alabama, has written some of those messages, while Moore has written others. Paintings featuring athletes who openly share their Christian faith have provided another opportunity to highlight their testimonies. “Everyone knows where I stand in my faith,” Moore said. Early in his career, Moore explained, he felt torn between his art and his faith; God, however, revealed to him that his painting shouldn’t be done for his own glory. “I had given God my heart, but not my art,” he said. “I realized that my painting shouldn’t be done for my glory, but for God’s.” Ever since then, his hope has been that someone who purchases a painting because of a favorite Alabama player or unforgettable football moment might also encounter something more lasting. A recent example of this is the message accompanying prints of Krispy Screen. The message tells of how 366-pound left tackle Kadyn Proctor (also known as KP or Krispy) became a Christian and presents the Gospel lesson of salvation to readers. In the tract with the print, Cramer writes: “KP was given the name Krispy during his freshman year because of his inability to deny himself the southern delicacy of delicious Krispy Kreme donuts. But the far more significant name he has been given came when he admitted that he was a sinner and placed his faith in Jesus’ work on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.”
Moore’s faith stretches into every aspect of his life. He and his wife, Brenda, have three daughters, all of whom attended Shades Mountain Christian School from K4 through graduation before attending the University of Alabama. April studied fashion design, Julie studied journalism, and their youngest daughter, Brittany, is a photographer who has exhibited at the Bluff Park Art Show—continuing a family connection that reaches back to her grandmother. Daniel’s mother studied art education at the University of Kentucky and was one of the founders of the Bluff Park Art Association. His father provided the sports side of the equation. “My dad’s sport side and my mom’s art side combined to be a nice confluence of inspiration,” Moore said. Daniel and Brenda (who is a children’s book author) have been married since 1977 and are approaching their 50th anniversary. They also have two grandchildren, who Moore says are already displaying artistic ability. The Moores previously attended Shades Mountain Independent Church and now attend Church of the Highlands. For Daniel, faith is not simply one subject among many that he paints. It shapes the way he sees his marriage, children, grandchildren, career, and gifts. “It’s just in everything and every breath,” he said. He sees his family as gifts from God, and his desire for his grandchildren is simple: teach them Scripture and demonstrate the love of Christ. “Teaching them the Bible, showing them the love of Christ—it’s everything,” he tells parents and grandparents.
Still Sowing. Today, New Life Art’s Hoover gallery serves both as a showcase for Moore’s original artwork and as the company’s corporate headquarters. Much of the printing and framing is handled there as well, bringing the process from painting to finished artwork close to home. And after a career spent preserving some of Alabama football’s greatest moments, Moore is still watching for the next image that might become a painting. Whether the canvas he creates depicts a packed football stadium or a quiet field illuminated by morning light, Moore believes the ability to create it came from God. And after all these years, he is still using that gift to sow seeds.
-Cheryl Wray
