I'm not here anymore

Hi all, I hope all is well, just a quick note to say that if you want to see my up to date work, you're best off finding me on instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/juan_fineart/

and of course the website:

http://juanillustration.wixsite.com/juanmoore

bye for now :)

It's been awhile!

Gosh! it has been a good long while since I las blogged anything. so I suppose a little update is in order. The show which I did at the isle gallery during the summer was far more successful than I had anticipated and to be honest after 2015 being such a difficult year to get anything done, I found producing the work for this show hugely enjoyable, I felt I'd gotten my mojo back. Another enjoyable thing was that the Isle gallery was the first place I'd ever exhibited (though it was the Courtyard gallery back then), so it felt like coming home. indecently I and the gallery were pleased as we had huge numbers to the show and sold the vast majority of the work in the show.

so as to why I've not blogged for awhile, well the main reason is that I tend to use integral now, though when I started the blog way back in 2008, it was a good way to keep the world up to date with what was happening, these days social media has taken over, so i feel I have had to move with the times.
You can view my Instagram page here:
https://www.instagram.com/juan_fineart/

Another reason as to why there has been a bit of silence from me of late, is that I haven't really had much to announce, my role as a lecturer is taking up all of my time these days and though I enjoy teaching, I think it's time I get back to more creative endeavours, I simply cannot balance the two anymore and the institution I work for is not making it easy, so I will be attempting to return to the world of freelance illustration, I also have 3 projects that I'd like to make a go with (more on that at a later date).
I had contemplated ditching the blog altogether, but I like having a space where I can talk casually about what I'm doing, so I'll keep it going I think.

for now here is a recent piece of work I did for Manx national Heritage, for their folklore and mythology trail guide:

Exhibition

So I'm just going to leave this here and say that work is progressing well and I think it'll be a good show.

First Big Solo show in 5 years :)

ok, big announcement time: I've done a few festivals, had a few pieces in group shows and done small shows of drawings and watercolour sketches but I'm pleased to announce that work is well underway on my first solo show in 5 years! if anyone wants a personalised invite please email me your postal address and I'll sort it out nearer the time.

I've had a bit of a rough time creatively for awhile now, (I know I moan about it far too much on here) and I've managed to get work together  for group shows and little things. and I've spent my time exploring other areas of creativity and teaching of late, so it's taken me awhile to get into the head space, but I feel really good about this, it's nice to get my teeth into something big and exciting as a solo show, and it dawned on me the other day that it has been 5 years since my last solo show!

Unlike previous bodies of work where part of the spectacle of the show is the huge number of artworks in the show, my plan for this one is to have more meaningful pieces (I'm sure there will still be a big number of images too) and I'm around 10 artworks in and I'm quite pleased with the direction the work is going in.

I'll update more soon :)

I'm on instagram now :)

So I've been a bit rubbish with the social media stuff for awhile now, so one of the new year's resolutions (Happy new year btw) has been to get my head around it and eventually get a new website up, though that will likely be much later on in the year, but for now follow me on instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/juan_fineart/


and here is some recent work:

Thoughts on the year and Fresh starts

I realise I've been neglecting this blog for quite some time and truth be told I've been neglecting my own art practice for quite some time too, I think the reasons for neglecting my art are many and I suppose  most creatives go through it, but anyway here are my thought on it.
The Image a day project which took place during the entirety of 2014, though very successful was very demanding in terms of time and creativity and so it would have been sensible to take a proper rest afterwards, however I did not, I put myself forward for the Lorient exhibition and upped my hours spent lecturing, in hind sight both of these things were a mistake, though the work for Lorient turned out well in the end, I felt I rushed it and let the pressure of the show really get to me, I didn't give the show the time it deserved. Lecturing is another matter really, I originally got into it to pay for my Masters degree, which I completed and have paid for, I somehow had talked myself into thinking this is how I should spend my time , and don't get me wrong I love teaching but I teach based on my experience and my practice, if teaching takes over my practice stalls and I get few new experiences, which is exactly what is happened.

From a creative perspective 2015 has been the poorest year of my career (it's hard to admit that) I've produced significantly less work than any other year of my career, I've felt very down and burnt out all year, all of this because I did not rest between projects and didn't prioritise what was important to me. over the last couple of months I've had 2 bereavements in my family, and as awful as these tragedies were it has made me evaluate what is important in my life and how I wish to spend my time in this life. I love art, I love making art, I love big crazy art projects, this is how I wish to spend my time, this is how I'm going to spend my time!

I know this post has been a bit whiny, but out of this I feel like I've turned a corner, I feel focused, perhaps more focused than I have in may years, so I'm ready for a creative and refocused 2016!

showing the Lorient work

If you are here on the rock, then please feel free to attend this, a group of us are showing some selected works from the recent show in Lorient: