Artists are most celebrated for their big shows at major institutions. Nonetheless, measured in terms of impact on the world, commercial artists and teachers give big names a run for the money. Commercial artists are the image makers who define the look of the world—from the way people are remembered in portraits to the way landscapes are perceived, to how we think of Santa Claus. And in the meantime, teaching artists pass their visions and techniques on through generations.

Born in 1924 in Franklin, Pennsylvania, Robert Moyer was an accomplished commercial artist and watercolorist, and also a beloved teacher who taught and exhibited at BAYarts when the organization was still known as BayCrafters. He also exhibited in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Show, at the Riffe Center in Columbus, Wayne Center for the Arts, and elsewhere. His father Harry Moyer was a commercial artist, and Bob followed in his footsteps. Beginning in the 1940s, he worked as an illustrator at the Ad Art Studio in Cleveland, followed by other Cleveland studios, including the Wenger Studio, Fawn Art Studio, and the Artists Studios, where he worked until 1990. Among his commercial jobs—in addition to work for department stores–he created a poster celebrating the Cleveland Orchestra conductor George Szell. Moyer passed away in 2017, at age 93.

Seven years later, his family offers a broad selection of his watercolors and other works for sale at a place the artist called home for years, BAYarts.

All aspects of the artist’s prolific output seem well represented in the show. There are copious original watercolor works on paper, including sensitive portraits of people full of personality, self-portraits, and landscapes. They show the artist’s enormous skill at handling paint, making each brushstroke look carefree, yet precise, like the paint just somehow landed that way. There are examples of commercial work, including signed copies of the aforementioned poster of George Szell, and multiple Santas.

Watercolorist and illustrator Jeff Suntala says he learned “most everything from Bob,” and described the artist’s skill this way: “He could switch from being super loose to super tight at the drop of a hat. That is a VERY rare talent. Most people who work tight cannot loosen up. His strength as a watercolorist was that he was in almost complete control of a very difficult-to-control medium. If he chose to work loosely that day, he would let the watercolor do its thing and respond to what it was doing and build up on it, all while having a solid draughtsman’s and designer’s scaffolding to have it anchored upon. ‘Improvisational jazz built upon a solid underpinning of musical theory, but with paint,’ is what I call it. A call and response type of thing.  …  [H]e achieved the most with the least amount of visible brush strokes than anyone I’ve ever seen.”

Suntala says his former teacher found joy in the work, and in his classes that was contagious. “He had a terrific sense of humor and was always encouraging, so even if people didn’t ‘get it,’ they still wanted to come to the class because it was so much fun.

“I think Bob’s goal in life was to be the best studio illustrator he could possibly be. And he became that.  …  Everything he did after that lifetime of work was gravy.  … So as a teacher late in life with the strong draughstman and design underpinning he possessed, it enabled him to excel with the watercolor brush, and he had a barrel of fun with it. There wasn’t any more deadline pressure, and he had a ball.”

The sale of Bob Moyer’s works takes place from 10 am to 4 pm Friday and Saturday, July 19 and 20, in the Playhouse at BAYarts.