Charles Moon Drawings

T H E

B I O G R A P H Y

o f C H A R L E S M O O N
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Charles Moon has spent the last twenty years in the advertising business. A native of Philadelphia, Charlie left the city to study fine arts and art history at Kutztown University.

His first job was in public relations at Hershey Entertainment and Resort Company. He then took a position at a small advertising agency where he was the only artist on staff. From there, he moved to a larger agency and within six years, he progressed from a junior artist to the senior art director.

Four years later, in early 1994, Charlie started his own firm, Charles Moon Graphic Design. This allowed him to embrace new multi-media technology, digital imaging, and the internet. Charlie is one of only a handful of artists who work in both traditional advertising and new media.

In 1999 Charles Moon Graphic Design closed it's doors when Charlie took a permanent position with one of his largest clients.

The wonderful people and astute business practices that Attracted Charlie to accept the position also made the company a target for acquisition and in 2000, they were sold to a National Corporation. By October of 2001, Charlie had been downsized and decided it was time to reconnect with his creative roots.

I was born on a hot June afternoon in Philadelphia, 1959 (at least that's what I'm told . . . I was too young to remember). That makes me the typical schizoid, manic, left-handed, artistic-type Gemini. I live up to the stereotype.

Interests
I guess the difference between an interest and a hobby is that “interests” are things you think about and “hobbies” are things you actually do.

Jazz	I love listening to Jazz in almost any form from Big Band to Dixieland to Hip Hop to classic Jazz like Ella or Count Basie to more progressive “modern” artists. Some of my particular favorites are Pat Metheny, Spyro Gyra and Benny Goodman. A few particular albums of note are Chuck Mangione's Children of Sanchez and Kitty Margolis' Evolution.
Historical Fiction	I like reading novels based in historical time periods. Specifically the Ancient World, medieval Europe and World War II. I have enjoyed the entire series by Mary Renault about ancient Greece. I also enjoy the works of Irving Stone and Noah Gordon, although the latter has a tendency to get into almost painfully tedious description.
Wine	While I don't collect wine per se, I do have a well stocked “cellar”. I prefer a good Beaujolais or Bordeaux. Recently we have been drinking Syrah which seems to have a lot of the same qualities of the nouveaux's. If you like that sort of thing I would recommend trying it. I suppose I developed my love of a good red wine from my grandfather who always had a glass of wine with dinner. As children we would always be given that special treat at holiday meals.
Cigars	So it's not the healthiest pastime in the world. I find a good hand made premium cigar infinitely relaxing.

Hobbies
Besides spending entirely too much time in front of a computer, these are a few of the activities I enjoy.

Cycling	Like many other activities, cycling is something I can do alone. I use to compete in college, but that sort of took all the enjoyment out of it. To me, getting on a bike a pedaling for twenty or thirty miles is more like therapy or a spiritual experience than exercise. It give's me time to think while actually getting to see some scenery. My current bike is a Cannondale frame with mostly Campagnolo components.
Tennis	A gentleman's (and ladies') game. Both my wife and I enjoy playing and we are hoping our son will love it at least as much. My only two regrets are my serve, which needs quite a bit of work, and not getting to play more. My personal favorite player is Goran Ivanisevic.
Model Airplanes	I have been building model airplanes since I was 10. I didn't really build any in my 20's, but now that my son is showing interest (especially after several visits to the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian) we are building them together.
Music	There was a time when I could have been a professional musician (bassist). During high school and college I played with several bands and enjoyed it very much. The problem was that I was also drawn to art and that either was an engrossing passion. There simply was not enough time to do both seriously. I decided to pursue the art end for whatever reason. I don't really regret it, but sometimes I think about how my life might have been different (although probably not “better”).