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Holladay Journal

Never too late to start on your dreams for Ron Moulton

Nov 06, 2018 01:59PM ● By Jana Klopsch

“Neighborhood House with a Hollyhocks.” (Courtesy of Ron Moulton)

By Lindsey Baxter | [email protected]

Ron Moulton grew up in Holladay in the 1940s. He says he loved growing up in the 40s and wouldn’t change it for anything. He made a career as a draftsman for an engineering firm for 45 years here in Utah. He loves the summer and all it has to offer and can often be found fishing or hiking — he just didn’t have the time to paint during that season. Although Moulton has a separate career and passions, he always found time to paint throughout the winter season. Moulton has been creating art and taking classes throughout his life. 

The Holladay Arts Council recently named Moulton its Artist of the Month. 

He says he has always been interested in art, even as a little boy. He started his art career about 15 years ago when he could really dedicate the time to painting. As he began to gather a body of artwork, he started reaching out to festivals and workshops to sell his paintings. He says he even sold them on the side of a road outside a festival. He has also had a summertime art gallery in his driveway and garage for many summers and hopes to bring it back next summer. 

Moulton takes special requests from pictures of sceneries throughout the year. He travels throughout the year and always takes pictures of beautiful nature scenery to use as his inspiration. He can see an old fence post with a flower growing next to it and find inspiration.

He is also a plein air artist, where he takes his paint palette, palette knife and canvas out in nature and paints from there. He says he can often finish a painting in two to three hours, although one painting took him five years to completely finish. He says a painting “is not finished until you stop painting. I just paint until I think it’s done, look at it, put it up, bring it back out a few days later and do some touch-ups on it and then it’s done.”

Moulton also finds inspiration in friends’ lives. His favorite piece of art, “Book of Life, Brighten Your Colors,” has great meaning for him. His previous boss and friend had a near-death experience and shared with him what he saw while in a coma. Moulton worked tirelessly to try and recreate what his friend saw and this piece is the final outcome. “It was a magnificent array of color. This is your Book of Life and the colors were just drifting up the screen. The brighter colors are the good things that you have done and the darker colors are the things that are not quite where you want them to be,” he says.

Moulton is a sweet and positive man with a true desire to bring joy to others’ lives through his love of nature and art. He loves spending time outside in the summer and spending time with his grandchildren. He is extremely flattered to have earned Holladay’s Artist of the Month. Moulton’s art can be found at artbyronmoulton.com.

To nominate an Artist of the Month, email [email protected]