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:

Strange times and creative block

It's been a funny old year so far, I hadn't realised just how burnt out I was after the image a day project and have felt (creatively) exhausted all year, though there is always a bit of downtime between projects and exhibitions, I've never felt so drained before, I have recently taken part in a group show in Lorrient, France with 3 other Manx artists and 4 Cornish artists. (here is my work and me):

 If I'm being honest I found it incredibly difficult to get motivated to do the artworks required for the show and ended up working right up to the deadline (normally I leave myself at least a month to be finished before a show). I was in France for 10 days and either side of it spent a few days in the Uk visiting friends, visiting galleries and seeing old clients, The show In France was also hugely successful and I feel very proud to have been a part of it, though whilst away I did have a bit of an epiphany, I worked out why it was so hard for me to produce work and why I've done little in the way of art since last December, part of this is due to a little bit of exhaustion, as stated before due to the nature of the image a day project another aspect is due to my teaching role taking up more of my time, so I have less time to produce work (I should note that I love the teaching and find it hugely inspiring and enjoyable) however the main reason why I've found it hard to get going, is that even after 10 years of working as a creative, I'd let myself be convinced that I was no good at it!

It seems silly thinking of it now, but I had let certain individuals (well, one) make me feel bad and inadequate in producing art, my trip away was great it has re-built my confidence as an illustrator, artist, creative or whatever you want to call it. So I feel good again, confident, now I know what the problem was, I know not to listen to certain people as a result I've already started producing new works, I also have ideas for a show, I feel ready to take on a new project now!

a little interview

Recently I did an interview along with a number of other working Manx artists for the artists' spaces project (which can be viewed here) it's a great project mainly looking at how artists' make use of studio space. Since I tend to be somewhat transient, I've never really felt too at home in a studio, so my take on it is a little different, incidentally, since this interview I've moved house again, so even that small space is not my studio anymore.

Back after a break

So I think I've recovered after the image a day project and I also feel that the project was very good for me, I feel like I worked through a lot things that had began to bother me about my work and my practice. I feel far more focused now and I have a greater understanding of what I would like to do with my work next. My time is still a bit split, between teaching, illustration and fine art, all of these are necessary if I want to continue paying the bills (which reminds me, I moved house again).
So as much as I would like to get back on the computer and produce 3D work, I'm still deeply in love with traditional work and as such I'm working towards an exhibition of works based on Manx folklore... I'll update you on that later, here is a work in progress in my new studio:

The image a day project has ended

Looking back at the start of the project I think I was incredibly naive about how big the project would be. The project has been extremely demanding but also really rewarding. I've had the opportunity to work across many mediums and explore a number of themes (which is alway good fun).  In terms of thinking of an image to create everyday I've only really stumbled a couple of times, at the end of January, I had a couple of days where I really found it hard to come up with anything (though I did, in the end) and then a brief spate around TT week, where I wanted to do images that were bike themed without actually doing images of Bikes.

The long duration  of the project ( a whole year) has made the process of creating an artwork every day into sort of a habit, it's become something I just do every day now.  and it's been nice in that I can explore whatever medium I'm in the mood for be it Acrylic paint, print making, digital or drawing. People ask me how far ahead I work? to be honest, not very, usually only a day ahead. 

I've tried to keep the subject matter as light as I could, but I know at times it got a bit dark, I'll not apologise for that as it's all a part of life, though I would like to thank all those people who emailed or asked if I was ok. (I was, but thanks for asking)

Part of the project meant travelling round all the island's high schools and producing an artwork in front of the students, which was nice (and I'd like to say thank you to all the patient high school art teachers who put up with me). The thing I've enjoyed the most about the project is the amount of exposure it has gotten, it's not just the Manx public that have  viewed the daily artwork, but people from the Uk, USA, Canada, Australia, Malta, Bulgaria, all over the world really,I've Even had views from far flung islands in the south pacific and Mongolia. The Blog averages around 100 to 200 views per day with a current total of around 40k views.

I think I'm too close to the project to decide how I feel about it. I don't know what the arts council plans to do with artwork after the project is over, I've heard plans ranging from an exhibition to a book, I guess we'll see in 2015. People keep asking me what I'm going to do next, in truth I don't know, all I really know is that I'm going to sleep in (all year I've been getting up at 7am or earlier to promote each day's artwork) and I'm going to have a little rest.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank The Island of culture team, the IOM Arts Council for funding the project and to everyone who has viewed the blog throughout the year. it's been a full on year for the island in terms of creativity  and I hope that 2015 will be equally as amazing.

What to do next?

As the image a day project enters it's final stage of about 60 or so artworks, I'm keenly aware of the fact that I have nothing planned for after it is over. In the past when I've finished a big project or large body of work, I've been so exhausted (mentally) that a break is all I've thought about. The image a day project is different in that, yes it is large project with a lot of work involved, but it a little bit of work every day rather than bursts of vast amounts of work over short periods of time. The project has been hard, but it has been good for me, I feel like I have my mojo back (so to speak). i feel like I've been a little lost with my work for a couple of years now, this project has allowed me to try new things, experiment with older methodologies, get a little closure on themes and techniques that have bugged me for awhile.

so here I am, in a position of being inspired and ready for something to do next. now all I have to do is think of something new to do.

The Guardian yesterday :)

So this is a piece I did for the Guardian recently, I have to say I'm rather pleased with it, I'm really feeling quite comfortable with the digital way of working now, this is thanks to all the practice I've had with the Image a day project. speaking of which it is all going well, I have just completed image number 235,  I'm very much enjoying the project but I'll be very glad when it is over, I hadn't realised how stressful the project would be whilst I'm trying to get other work done. Speaking of which I have a small exhibition in September, mostly of quirky small watercolour art, more on that soon. :)

The Guardian the other week.

Just realised that I'd forgotten to put this up, another piece done in the digital style I've developed for the image a day project, originally developed because i was getting a bit bored of paint, and wanted to make use of some of the digital skills I'd developed on my masters course, I now find myself keen to get back into paint. I know, I know, I'm very fickle really.

little update

I know I've been rubbish at keeping this up today but most of the action has beed happening over at the image a day blog (check it out here: http://imageadayiom.blogspot.com ) in other news I took part in an art festival here on the island called WOSAT which was a fantastic 3 days with plenty of visitors and plenty of sales too. I also reprinted some small press books, something I've not done for about 8 years. they went down very well,  so watch this space for more. the digital work produced for the image a day project is proving very popular and I will be making prints in the not to distant future. in the mean time I'm busy preparing for 2 shows, one a group show in New York city (details TBC) and a small exhibition here on the island in November (my first show in 3 years, here on the rock.

also here is a Guardian illustration I did a couple of weeks ago:

Today's guardian

I think this is the first completely digital illustration I've ever done (you can see it in today's Guardian's Weekend supplement). if you like it you can see more digital work here: http://imageadayiom.blogspot.com/

update

So just a quick update, most of my time and effort is going into the image a day project, which is proving to be quite successful, at the moment it is averaging at about 1000 views per week. I've begun working in an interesting digital style, which I don't think will replace my painting work, but right now is a welcome distraction.
also the blog got some great coverage on the BBC: you can read about that here

Busy and Processes

Just incase you missed it over on: http://imageadayiom.blogspot.com here is a short speeded up video of my painting process, aside form this the project is going well at the moment. I'm hopping to do a few more videos like this

Exciting project beginning very very soon

The goal of this ambitious project is to produce one artwork a day for the entirety of 2014 and present each artwork here for all to see everyday.

The project will test the limits of my own creativity and the boundaries of inspiration, but that is what makes it both challenging and exciting. What I think interests me the most is the possibility of working with new mediums and techniques. For the past few years I've been working largely with traditional mediums such as paint, as my work has to be exhibited in a physical space. what is interesting about working for an online blog is that the artworks don't have to be physical, I'm very much looking forward to exploring digital and photographic techniques as well as my tried and tested traditional techniques such as paint and pencil.

Of course 2014 is the year of culture here on the Isle of Man and I'm extremely grateful to both the Isle of Man arts council and the Island of Culture for supporting this project

visit the new blog on January 1st 2014: http://imageadayiom.blogspot.com

finally have a page on facebook

Hello world, just to let you all know that I now have a facebook page for my work, I now I should have done it years ago, but the thought of making everything a jpeg put me off, here it is anyways, so please like and share, also there will be an announcement of big proportions early next week, so stay tuned for that.

https://www.facebook.com/juanmoorefineart