We were lucky to catch up with Jay Moore recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jay, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

Earlier this year, Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver, commissioned me to paint a 62″ x 160″ canvas capturing Colorado’s grandeur. I love to paint big, but this was twice as large as anything that I had attempted before. This was a very meaningful project to me because I was born and raised in the mountains of Colorado. I knew many places that were beautiful, so narrowing the one scene was a process that started with presenting the selection committee 20 different views. From those they selected four that I developed into miniature paintings to compare side by side to finally choose the one painting that would represent the beauty of the state.

Jay, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got my start in the Art business after my graduation from The Art Institute of Colorado, I worked as a graphic designer and Illustrator for De Olivera Creative in Denver. Two years later, I set out on my own as a freelance illustrator and had shared a studio in Downtown Denver with another illustrator for two years. Although I was ling the dream of making a living as a professional artist, I was growing tired of creating what others wanted under tight deadlines. So, I took a workshop from a famous landscape painter, Clyde Aspevig near Aspen, CO. That was a turning point, and I started doing landscape paintings in between illustration jobs. When I had about 30 little landscape paintings, I displayed them in a restaurant in Denver. An art dealer saw my paintings and started representing my work. Two years later, I made the transition to full-time landscape painter. I traveled around doing outdoor shows and showing my work to galleries to try to get a wider exposure. I gradually showed my work in galleries and gained some traction with one-person shows. The exposure expanded with ambitious advertising and magazine articles, and in time, I was invited to show in museum shows and auctions across the country. For the past 10 years I have owned my own gallery in Downtown Parker, CO and sell most of my work there. I still enjoy traveling to find scenes to paint and do an occasional museum show, but mostly focus on painting what I want, and a few commissions for select clients.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

This summer I was commissioned to paint a 62″x160″ Colorado landscape for the Cherry Hills Country Club. By far the largest painting I had ever done, and possibly the most prestigious location to be displayed. It took a lot to get the job, and more work than I anticipated in preparation for the canvas etc.

All was going well and I was about a month into the two-and-a-half month project when I woke up with a pinched nerve in my lower back. The pain sent me to the emergency room and they tried to give me morphine for the pain, but that didn’t touch it. Finally with IV medications they were able to calm the pain temporarily. I was unable to get out of bed for two weeks. But rather than be content to let the commission slip away and miss the deadline. I decided to work through the pain an hour or two at a time. Realizing this pace would not be enough, I pushed through and strapped ice to my back and took strong pain medications and worked 6-8 hour days. This is how I worked for the next 200 hours of work on the painting. I finished the painting on the last day before the deadline, and was able to unveil the painting on time for the crowd attending the Club’s 100th Anniversary.

That is the most pain I have ever endured, and the most difficult thing I have ever had to do. I honestly do not know how I got it done. Thankfully I hired a film crew to create a documentary to record the entire process. As soon as the painting was finished, I had back fusion surgery to relieve the pinched nerve, and am currently recovering from that, and now months later am slowly getting back to work.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I have tried to research what NTFs are and how they can be used effectively in the fine art world to see if they are the next big thing or not. I think NTFs are a good tool and will be used effectively in certain aspects of our world such as concert tickets, and other one-of-a-kind items, but I do not think they are good for the fine art market. Justin Beiber purchased an NTF for $1.3 million and it is now worth $70,000. For now, my opinion is it is all art marketing “smoke and mirrors”. I am staying far away from it.

I have had scores of people offering to pay me tens of thousands for images of my paintings as NTFs. It is tempting money so as an experiment I played out their offer. I supplied the images they wanted, they “purchased” them and it showed as sold on an app that they provided. They you simply have to pay a hefty fee to cash out the account. It was a total scam. Beware!

Contact Info:

• Website: jay@jaymoorestudio.com
• Instagram: JayMooreStudio
• Facebook: Jay Moore
• Linkedin: Jay Moore
• Youtube: @jaymoorestudio