Description

Nine Tricksters Painting by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

Nine Tricksters Painting by P. Buckley Moss is the one-of-a-kind original watercolor used to create the published limited edition of the same name. Created in 2013, this playful composition brings together two unmistakable autumn subjects: a broad orange jack-o’-lantern and nine stylized black cats whose heads rise from its crown like an extraordinary feline headdress.

The pumpkin’s crooked smile and slightly uneven expression establish the humor immediately, while the cats create a second visual story above it. Their long black necks, pointed ears, and cool green eyes form a rhythmic silhouette against a softly washed background of pale blue, peach, gold, and rose.

Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies the original as Product ID 3738, an original painting on paper currently priced at $2,200.

Story Behind the Artwork

The title Nine Tricksters becomes part of the viewing experience.

Moss does not simply place nine cats around a pumpkin. She transforms them into the pumpkin’s extravagant crown. Some rise tall and straight, while others lean outward or emerge from shorter points along the brim. Counting them becomes a small visual game, and their varied heights prevent the upper half of the painting from feeling symmetrical or predictable.

Below them, the jack-o’-lantern has personality of its own. Its angled eyes, triangular nose, curving mouth, and visible tooth give the face an almost theatrical expression—mischievous rather than frightening. The effect is strengthened by the contrast between the pumpkin’s broad rounded mass and the narrow, reaching forms of the cats above it.

This watercolor also has a documented relationship to a later Moss edition. According to Canada Goose Gallery records supplied for this product, the original was used to produce 250 numbered prints and 25 artist proofs of Nine Tricksters.

Symbols & Meaning

The painting draws on familiar Halloween imagery without requiring a frightening interpretation.

The jack-o’-lantern has become one of Halloween’s most recognizable symbols, while the black cat has accumulated centuries of folklore surrounding mystery, luck, and superstition. Moss’s treatment, however, is visibly comic rather than ominous: the exaggerated pumpkin face and curious feline crown create an atmosphere of mischief, humor, and seasonal play.

The number nine also naturally invites association with the familiar saying that cats have “nine lives,” although no supplied artist statement confirms that this was Moss’s intended reference. It is best treated as a possible cultural connection rather than an explanation of the artist’s purpose.

Canada Goose Gallery’s editorial standards call for this distinction between visible fact, established symbolism, documented artist statement, and interpretation.

Artistic Details

Nine Tricksters Painting succeeds through strong shape and color contrast.

The pumpkin occupies most of the lower composition, painted in layered oranges with lighter strokes defining its rounded lobes. Dark contours sharpen the carved features while preserving the loose quality of watercolor.

Above it, Moss switches almost completely to black. The cats merge visually with the wide black brim beneath them, creating the impression of a fantastic hat or crown. Only their green eyes interrupt the silhouette, repeating one another as small points of cool color.

The background works differently. Rather than outlining a specific landscape, Moss uses atmospheric watercolor washes—blue-green at left shifting toward peach, gold, and warm pink at right and below. Those transitions give the central figure room to dominate while softening the stark orange-and-black Halloween palette.

The original measures 7-1/16 x 8 inches and is signed “P Buckley Moss 2013” to the lower left of the pumpkin.

Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Harvest & Thanksgiving

This is the strongest approved Master Collection assignment. Canada Goose Gallery defines Harvest & Thanksgiving around pumpkins, harvests, autumn traditions, gratitude, farm life, fall festivals, and related seasonal subjects. Nine Tricksters is specifically included among the representative works selected for this collection.

Supporting Master Collection: Animals & Companions

The nine cats are essential rather than incidental. Their number, placement, expressions, and visual dominance make feline imagery a major part of the artwork’s identity.

A separate Halloween website category or seasonal campaign tag remains useful for navigation and promotion, but website categories should not be confused with Master Collections. Canada Goose Gallery’s collection standards specifically preserve that distinction.

Decorating Ideas

The original’s orange, black, turquoise, peach, and gold palette makes it an especially effective autumn focal piece. Its nearly square format works well above a small console, side table, desk, mantel grouping, or within a seasonal gallery wall.

For collectors who rotate artwork by season, Nine Tricksters Painting can anchor an October display alongside Moss pumpkin and black-cat pieces. It also has enough graphic personality to remain visible year-round in the home of a cat lover.

Its bold central image suits Collected Home, Eclectic, Cottage, Contemporary, and playful Traditional interiors, especially where a small original can provide color and personality without requiring a large wall.

Gift Ideas

As a one-of-a-kind original that later became a published edition, Nine Tricksters Painting is most appropriate for a significant collecting occasion.

It may be particularly meaningful for a P. Buckley Moss collector, cat lover, Halloween enthusiast, collector of original watercolors, or someone who already owns the Nine Tricksters print and wants the unique source artwork behind it.

Milestone birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, a significant collection addition, or a special gift for someone who has made Moss’s Halloween artwork part of an annual tradition are natural occasions.

About the Edition

Artist: P. Buckley Moss
Title: Nine Tricksters Painting
Year: 2013
Medium: Original watercolor on paper
Type: Original Art / Painting
Edition Type: One-of-a-kind original artwork
Product ID: 3738
Current Price: $2,200
Condition: Mint; never previously sold according to supplied Canada Goose Gallery information
Image Size: 7-1/16 x 8 inches
Orientation: Nearly square / vertical
Signature: “P Buckley Moss 2013,” lower left
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Gallery Viewing: Available to view at Canada Goose Gallery according to supplied information
Related Published Edition: Nine Tricksters
Numbered Print Edition: 250
Artist’s Proofs: 25
Original Artwork Information: This watercolor was used to produce the published edition of the same name.

The approved Gallery inventory independently identifies Product ID 3738, the $2,200 price, P. Buckley Moss as artist, Paper support, Original Art/Painting status, and Cat/Nature subject classifications.

🎨 Fun Fact:

The familiar pumpkin jack-o’-lantern is actually an American adaptation of an older British and Irish custom. Library of Congress folklorist Jack Santino explains that people in Britain traditionally carved turnips, rutabagas, and other large root vegetables, while pumpkins became the preferred American version after colonists encountered the New World crop. The transformation was especially practical: a hollow pumpkin offers far more room for an expressive face—something particularly fitting for the oversized grin in Nine Tricksters Painting.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

What distinguishes Nine Tricksters Painting is the way Moss turns the cats into part of the jack-o’-lantern’s architecture. The nine black figures do not simply surround the pumpkin; together they create a crown-like silhouette whose green eyes provide repeating points of contrast above the brilliant orange face. The painting also carries a concrete collector connection: it is the singular original watercolor used to produce the Nine Tricksters edition of 250 numbered prints and 25 artist proofs. That documented source relationship gives collectors a direct link between the unique painting and its published edition without relying on unsupported claims about rarity, demand, or future value.

Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery

Canada Goose Gallery offers Nine Tricksters Painting as the original watercolor behind the published edition, with a Certificate of Authenticity and documented Gallery provenance. The work may also be viewed at the Gallery while it remains available.

The Gallery’s broader inventory of original P. Buckley Moss watercolors allows collectors to compare this playful seasonal work with other originals and see how Moss approached animals, landscapes, architecture, and seasonal subjects across different compositions.

Continue Exploring

Natural Canada Goose Gallery companions include:

• Nine Tricksters in its published print edition
• Perfect Magic
• Black Cat Ball
• Double Trouble
• October Play Day
• The Pumpkin Fairy
• Witches Three
• Jack-O-Lantern 1
• Jack-O-Lantern 2
• Perfect Magic
• Hangin’ In The Pumpkin Patch

Nine Tricksters and many of these related works are included in the approved Harvest & Thanksgiving collection list.

Suggested Categories and Subjects:

• P. Buckley Moss Original Paintings
• Collections Hub
• P. Buckley Moss FAQ
• Cat Collection
• Pumpkin
• Halloween
• Nature

🎨 Fun Fact:

Before pumpkins became the classic American jack-o’-lantern, people in Britain and Ireland carved turnips and rutabagas for related traditions. The Library of Congress notes that the pumpkin version developed in America, where the native crop provided a much larger—and much easier—surface for carving a face.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

Nine Tricksters Painting is distinctive because the nine cats become part of the design itself: their black silhouettes rise from the pumpkin like an eccentric crown, while their cool green eyes contrast dramatically with the orange jack-o’-lantern. For collectors, the strongest documented distinction is its publishing history—this is the original watercolor behind the later edition of 250 numbered prints and 25 artist proofs.

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“Nine cats. One pumpkin. One original.”

 “Mischief wears a feline crown.”

“Count the tricksters.”

“Halloween, according to nine cats.”