User:Jhundiamante

Jhun Ciolo Diamante, who signs his paintings “DiamanteJhun” is the man behind the http://www.philippineartists.com, a FREE Virtual Gallery for all Filipino Artists around the world and The Official website of The Philippine Artists Group of Canada (PAG).

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Jhun was born in San Pablo City, Laguna, Philippines on February 1967. He is the third eldest of eight children. As a child, he always amazed his classmates in drawing animals and cartoon characters.

Jhun’s first exposure and discovery of the arts happened when he joined the on-the-spot drawing contest and win the first place in the elementary division. Since then he always join and win the on-the-spot drawing contest in San Pablo City. Jhun received several medals and recognition at his early age.

In 1982, Jhun won another Gold medal in one of the major competition sponsored by the Rotary Club of San Pablo City – the “on-the-spot at the park” where he painted the statue of Dr. Jose Rizal at the main plaza of the city, it was participated by hundreds of city’s talented artists.

Jhun went on to study a Bachelor of Science in Architecture, where he explored his talent in arts. During his college life, he was recognized with his artistic talent in colour rendering and illustrations of buildings and designs. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Architecture in 1989.

FAMILY
Jhun met Judy Mercado Romero in 1989 while working as graphic artist in Makati through recommendation from a close friend and officemate. After 1 year of working in Bahrain, he eventually married her in 1991. Then the couple decided to stay in Bahrain, where their two sons were born. The eldest, Joshuanimrod, was born in 1992 and Janbonjov was born in 1993. They spent seven and half years in Bahrain and decided to migrate to Toronto, Canada in 1997 where the youngest son, Jonray was born in 2000.

THE BAHRAIN YEARS
Jhun’s first years as a painter in Bahrain were very exciting. He met a lot of Filipino Artists in the country. Majority of the artists in advertising agencies in downtown “Manama” were Filipinos.

They formed a Group of Filipino Artists and had several group art exhibits in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Their art shows were recognized by the Shaikhs and royal family members. Also during his stay in Bahrain, he joined the international arts exhibits participated by hundreds of artists from different part of the world held at the Bahrain National Museum.

During his last exhibit before he migrated to Toronto, Jhun was interviewed and featured in the Bahrain TV together with some of his fellow Filipino Artists.

LIFE IN CANADA
In 1997, Jhun brought his family to Canada where he continued to work as graphic artist with a corporate company and at the same time he was hired as a web designer by another company to create customized automotive websites.

Jhun is an extremely detail oriented individual and has a proven ability to manage large and varied workloads with minimal supervision. He possesses strong technical and analytical skills, and won the Bell Action Recognition Program of “SPEED” on November 2001. Jhun has also demonstrated first-rate communication and interpersonal skills. He deals directly with sales department and works happily and productively in a team environment.

He produced work of the highest quality for numerous high profile companies and has gained recognition as a dynamic creative designer for automotive website.

THE PHILIPPINE ARTISTS GROUP OF CANADA
In 1998, at work he met a fellow artist and founding member of the Philippine Artists Group of Canada (PAG) – Romi MananQuil (http://www.mananquil.com). This led to his joining the group and became the first of several young talents that brought more vigour to the PAG.

Steadfastly, Jhun became an invaluable member and was elected as its secretary for two years. However, his mastery of the modern computer and creative web designing made him the group’s computer guru and permanent webmaster of the internationally acclaimed website: http://www.philippineartists.com/, a FREE virtual gallery for all Filipino artists around the world. This multi-talented artist continues to awe people for his wizardry in using the computer as a digital canvas when not indulging in his outdoor painting.

In September 2004, the Philippine Artists Group of Canada (PAG) joined by other Filipino artists from the U.S., France and the Philippines held its first and biggest art exhibition to date on Philippine soil called “Convergence Internationale” (http://convergenceinternationale.com).