Simon was born in 1962 into a family of commercial printers. His artistic journey started out when an old 1850's printing press was discovered in the basement of an old stationery printers in Perth, Scotland. The press lay in pieces for many years but was finally moved to Exeter where Simon used it to help start the Double Elephant Print Workshop - a community resource for artists where Simon was the Director for 8 years.
He now uses this very same press to produce the stunning
monoprints that he creates today. Based in Exeter he is now focussing
on his own work and while also lecturing part time at the University
of Plymouth and at Exeter College.
Simon's art education
started in London, his degree however in Fine Art Printmaking was
gained at Plymouth.
'what excites me is the not knowing -
until one pulls back the paper from the block you never quite know
how it will turn out. In my work I facilitate chance and actively
encourage the unknown, the happy accident.' Simon's work is an
intuitive response to the things that catch his eye. When seeing the
finished article, one can see how the work has evolved on the paper.
It is not restrained by anything tangible, leaving the viewer's
imagination to explore its depths while taking in its form. His
exploration of colour is exceptional - finding hues that can be
stimulating but at the same time relaxing...tranquility without
form.
Today Simon makes linocut relief monoprints on
handmade Japanese paper. Each piece is unique, individually inspired
and hand printed by Simon himself.