Watercolor on metal.

For Michael Moore, foundry manager for JC Steele and Sons, pouring molten iron is a work of art. So the self-taught artist has been drawing inspiration from it for his latest collection of paintings, which are on display in the offices of the heavy clay machinery manufacturer in Statesville, N.C.

Moore has been working with molten metal since 1972 and painting since he was 10, but the two passions didn't merge until four months ago when some photos of the metalcasting facility spurred him to let his brush interpret the scene.

"Those photos set me on fire," Moore said. So far, he has painted nine scenes from the metalcasting floor. Most of the watercolors are 11 x 14 in., and each painting took him 15-20 hours to complete.

Before his metalcasting scenes, Moore concentrated mostly on oil paintings of landscapes, flowers and portraits. The industrial paintings are his first forays into watercolors, but he said he's already hooked.

"I like the watercolors better than anything," Moore said. "You have to plan out how the painting is going to look, which appeals to the engineer in me. But it is also spontaneous; once a brush stroke is there, it's there. You can't fix it."

Moore's favorite paintings are those which depict the iron being poured or tapped out of the furnace.

"I'm a metallurgical engineer," he said. "I'm enthralled with molten metal."