Many of Ryan Moon’s paintings focus on one person or object, but the background bears an array of natural colors, like browns, greys and blues, that heighten whatever or whoever is the center of the piece. And in this particular gallery event, on July 29 at the Insurance Lounge in Medford, Moon’s work that is often focused on one person, will help many. The event will benefit CASA—Court Appointed Special Advocates is an organization of volunteers who are matched with neglected and abused children in the justice system and investigate their cases and represent them in court in Jackson County, with the goal of finding a safe, permanent home for each child. Moon hopes viewers will be affected by the authenticity and rawness of his work.

“Really it’s just pieces of paint, and it’s arranged in such a way that we can recognize it,” he says.

Twenty four original paintings by Moon will be shown, revealing his naturalistic style that blends abstract with realism.

“Really, it’s a lot of exposure for me, but it’s a lot of exposure for CASA,” Moon says.

The event will have wineries, breweries, distilleries, food trucks, and will feature DJ Hope. The building across the way from the Insurance Lounge will also be a part of the event, showing more of Moon’s original and reprinted work that will be for sale. Along with all this, a six foot painting for CASA will be unveiled and auctioned at the event as well.

“It’s showcasing my diversity and what I can paint,” he says. “I mostly paint portrait work, so for me to move outside of that and do figure work or maybe a little bit of landscape or still life, whatever it may be. There’s a lot of pressure to perform.”

Pressure isn’t anything new to Moon, however. Teaching at Southern Oregon Art Academy for six years, he had to constantly meet a standard of work his students could learn from.

Something Moon is very sensitive to is not forgetting why he is doing this, because he loves to paint.

“I always just painted to paint,” he says. “What I’m trying to do with that abstract aspect of it is to bring something that’s recognizable. And once you realize that the whole world is abstract it’s just that we recognize certain bits and pieces of it.”

Ryan Moon Gallery Event

Friday, July 29, 4 pm – 7:30 pm

Insurance Lounge, 625 Medford Center, Medford

Free