Juan Moore

Please tell us about yourself & where you are based

My name is Juan Moore. I'm an illustrator and artist based here on the Isle of Man. I have worked in the UK and I work for clients all over the world. I've been based primarily in Douglas in the past. I've been based in Peel, Tynwald Mills, and currently I'm in my little studio shop, Gallery Space, in Castletown.

What do you produce & where do you showcase your works?

So as an illustrator I work for clients all over the place. I've worked in publishing newspapers and magazines. I did regular work for the Guardian newspaper for about 15 years. As an artist I've done exhibitions all over the world. Primarily at the moment I showcase my art in my studio gallery in Castletown.

Who / what inspired you to create your works?

So, lots of things inspire me. Mostly everyday things like whether or not you should have a biscuit with a cup of tea that normally inspires something quite surreal. Manx folklore and history feed into my work. More and more I'm doing more folklore and mythology style illustrations and artworks.
But yeah, mostly just kind of thoughts that pop into my head when I'm walking along the beach or walking around the island. It all gets in there.

What resources / education would you say helped you along the way?

So education wise, I was not particularly academic at school. I left school at 16 and I went to the Isle Of Man College to study art. I was promptly thrown out because I was a bit gobby and quite lazy.

And I went back to arts education when I was 21, where I completed a two year fine art course at college and then I went to Cornwall to study illustration, which at the time was the best in the UK and I got a first. And that kind of led to lots of interesting opportunities. So I'd say my education as a whole was pretty good. I think art education is not what people think it is.

Nobody ever sat down and said, alright, here's how you paint. It's more here's a problem, find a way to solve it in a visual way. And I feel like that way of thinking has kind of got me through a lot of things. But I've always drawn, regardless of education, my whole life. I can't remember a time when I didn't draw or create things at some point.

Do you have (or plans) for producing a book showcasing your work?

So yeah, I've done a few books that have had my work in it as an illustrator, but recently I released an exhibition of 100 drawings I did recently called Vikings of Man, which is kind of a humorous take on various Viking characteristics.

And I'm just, as we speak, about to start a similar exhibition about Manx Fairies and the mischief they get up to. So that'll be collected in a book. And I've been at this a long time now. I might do a book collecting all my work over the last 20 years.

Who knows? Maybe.