STEE SIMONS
ART | ILLUSTRATION | PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOUT ME
Stee Simons is a Nottingham based artist.
In his work he likes to celebrate the effervescent charm he observes in people, places and things. He plays and explores using a range of media including paint, ink, spray, photography, collage and installation.
His pieces often invite a second or third glance as you start to find secrets revealed from them. Often text, texture or a hidden visual narrative, these secrets become personal to the viewer, he rather poetically likens it to how a rainbow is personal to the individual who sees it.
Much of Stephen's self directed work is influenced by an 'East meets West' notion; a symbiosis of a modest Midlands upbringing infused with the Far Eastern principles of balance and design. This can be seen in his character based work as well as overall content and composition of other pieces.
After developing an early appreciation for form and texture (largely thanks to Lego and Fuzzy Felt) Stephen's art education blossomed at West Nottinghamshire college where he studied Graphic Design and then Illustration & Photography under the illuminating teachings of Julian Bray. Stephen then moved to Lincoln where he gained his BA (hons) Illustration Degree, practicing and developing his craft with the impressive backdrop of the historic Lincoln Cathedral.
Stee has submitted work for several collaborative projects including '52 Artists 4 Bulwell' a community project celebrating the creativity and diversity found in city areas. He has also been involved in shared and solo exhibitions and provided artwork for companies including Howies, Element and Ouevre Records.
Stee is fiercely proud of his home city of Nottingham with aspects of it and its people often championed in his work. By no means is this a limitation instead he sees a platform and playground in which to propagate his art philosophy. From a young age he saw that pictures he drew could gain a response from the people he showed; his study of illustration taught him how context could be married with technique and media to achieve not only a reflected response, but inform a thought or feeling in someone or a group of people. Far from producing articles of just simple decoration he has become interested in the added value that comes from truly connecting with others using only images.
Stee drinks tea.