Moya Deacon Radley is a botanical, still life and landscape artist who creates artwork on location and from her studio in the beautiful town of Pegasus, in the Waimakariri district of Aotearoa New Zealand.

​She grew up in the dynamic and culturally-diverse country of South Africa, originally hailing from Johannesburg.

Moya attended the Rand Afrikaans University (now the University of Johannesburg) after high school, and completed her Master's degree in Philosophy and Anthropology. Moya's studio is called "Cula Moya" meaning "Singing Wind" in Zulu as homage to her South African heritage.

Moya's journey in art started when she moved to New Zealand, where she was captivated by the beautiful flora and fauna of the Aotearoa New Zealand landscape which inspired her to take up art through oil paintings and artist pencils.

Moya often draws inspiration from the flowers in her country garden, choosing to explore these "… because of the emotion that they evoke in me, and the opportunity to share a small moment in time when the light caresses petals in beautiful ways." 

"My botanical descriptions and my landscape renditions are meant to remind us all that no matter how busy life becomes, there is delicacy to be found when we take time to to truly see the wonderful world around us. Stepping outside to find inspiration inspires me to create better and better artwork each time I step in front of my easel."

As an award-winning artist, Moya's pencil work illustrates the epitome of what pencil drawings can be, oftentimes surprising viewers when they discover they were created using artist pencils. Her work is detailed, timeless, flawless and colourful, and she adapts all of the fluidity in oil painting in her pencil artwork. Moya's oil paintings capture the essence of what art is. It expresses love and passion, and communicates to the viewer a new way of looking at things. She loves to explore antique shops to find treasures to include in her artworks, and even includes characters in her still life works for a bit of fun.

Moya is a student of multi-award winning and leading contemporary artist, Stefan Baumann, who is based at Mount Shasta in the United States of America. She works closely with Stefan to continue her learning journey in the realm of art. Moya strives for continuous improvement in her work, exploring new techniques and materials in the works that she produces. 

Academically trained in the discipline of philosophy, it would be remiss not to include Moya's perspective on the nature of art.

Art is the enduring echo of our shared humanity—a mirror held up to culture, reflecting not just what we see, but who we are and what we value. In brushstrokes, melodies, movements, and words, art distils the spirit of a time and place, capturing the hopes, fears, questions, and truths of its people. It is both a record and a rebellion, a celebration and a critique. More than decoration, art is declaration—our collective voice, speaking across generations.