State of the art
Dallas Voice, March 24, 2000
Gallery owner Dale Moses blends technology with traditional methods

Maybe you've seen his work. Dale Moses exhibits at a number of area restaurants. . . he's been very successful there, and his work is attracting quite a bit of attention.

Moses' work can also be seen at his own gallery. He began painting full time in 1985. And for a number of years, he worked as a fashion illustrator and then in advertising.

When he opened the gallery on the comer of Wycliff Avenue and Cedar Springs Road several years ago, he intended it to be a traditional gallery representing a variety of artists. But he's been most successful selling his own work.

In Moses' gallery I compared his work to the wonderful other paintings hanging. His use of color and form immediately attracts attention away from anything else in the room.

Originally Moses wasn't entirely comfortable with the technology he now embraces. Years ago, he couldn't imagine using a computer. As we walked through his four-room gallery, he explained the new Giclée technique he uses. First he produces his original work in a traditional method by painting in acrylic on paper. Then he has the work scanned to disk and uses a computer.

Moses says the next step is the most fun. Often he finds that the scanned work is too dark, and he adjusts the color on computer. He loves playing with the colors, making slight adjustments and variations for his series of prints. In some of his Giclée series, he makes wide color changes between prints, making each work in his series virtually an original.

The machine he uses to print is a plotter that prints four million droplets per second. The process called Giclée, he jokes, is French for large inkjet. But that's precisely what the $20,000 Hewlett Packard he uses is. The image can take up to 20 minutes to load from the computer and half an hour to print.

Several years ago, the print would have faded within a couple of years and today would be gone, he observed. Today, the inks he uses are archival, guaranteed to last 100 years.

"Giclée is changing the art world as we know it," he says, virtually replacing lithography, which is an offset printing process. Without the screens - which renders the image with tiny dots - used in printing a lithograph, the prints are also clearer.

Moses paints common images – dogs and cats, shapes, familiar items from around the house. One of my favorites is a simple electric fan. He simplifies h is images and adds color to them. With the computer he can experiment with multiple colorations.

Many of his works are whimsical. "Fresh Bouillabaisse" has goldfish swimming merrily though soup. "Miss Tillie in Her Sunday Best" is a spoiled cat whose personality is apparent.

Other series are inspired by a variety of sources. "Calla Lily," is inspired by photos taken by Robert Mapplethorpe. "Tuscan Landscape" is reminiscent of the Impressionists. "Poppies in a Vase" reminds one of Vincent van Gogh. Moses counts Henri Matisse and Joan Miro among his other influences.

Moses Gallery is located at 4253 Cedar Springs at Wycliff and is open Wed.-Thu. 12-5 p.m., Fri. 12-4 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sun. 1-4 p.m. 214-528-7983.