We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kerry Simmons a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kerry, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
My parents encouraged me fully in my artistic interests and never discouraged me from pursuing art as a career. I understand it’s common for parents to insist their children study something practical and reject the idea that it is possible to work full-time as an artist. I’ve had to work “regular” jobs but I did not grow up with the idea that being a professional artist is impossible. When I was a child my mom got me a subscription to the Artist’s Magazine, arranged art lessons, and allowed me to purchase professional paints from the Blick catalogue. I still remember getting my first set of “real” tube paints and how exciting that was. It was also my mom that encouraged me to consider traveling to Ukraine to study art and helped me to get in as a student there when I was 18. Neither of us really had any idea of what that might be like, but it was exactly what I needed in terms of foundational training. I think they taught me how to think creatively not just about making art, but about finding ways to make a living doing the thing I loved most.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always loved art and pursued the highest level of traditional training that I could find in the Academies of Russia and Ukraine. Realism has always been my speciality but I create print design and fashion illustration as well. In my 20s I began selling my work in the form of handmade greeting cards, illustration, portraits and commissions and graduated to a gallery setting over 15 years ago with Robert Lange Studios in Charleston, SC agreeing to add me to their roster of artists. Since that time I have shown with galleries in New York, Boston, Long Island and Nashville and sold my work to many national and international collectors. In recent years I’ve also licensed my floral design work to companies for clothing, wallpaper, fabric, and furnishings. I am forever trying new techniques and media but I feel my attention to beauty and the natural world has remained consistent throughout. I hope to continue selling my original paintings to those who appreciate handmade work and I would also love to see more of my design work make it out into the world for broader enjoyment. I license out my designs but I have also created one of kind design commissions. Nothing would make me happier than to see more of my flowers splashed across fabric, paper goods, clothing, accessories and furniture.
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 think they represent an unfortunate part of the art market. It seems to me about investing and little else and is not unlike people purchasing art only to stash it away in warehouses waiting for its value to increase. The things that I find most beautiful and exciting and comforting about art- its display of technique, creativity, design and its special handmade quality are pushed aside in favor of what is literally a token. All the humanity and joy is stripped away. I may be wrong, but I suspect this sort of thing will slip away in favor of the tangible and material. There is an exhaustion to absorbing so much through a screen.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Having an idea or vision in my head and then taking on the challenge of bringing it into two-dimensional form with basic ingredients- pigments, binders, fabric and paper, graphite, ink etc. Although I always fall short in my own mind, I love to try to use all the skills and knowledge I’ve acquired to realize something I think of or see in tangible form and then be able to share it with others. I delight in the visual world and to be able to express something that others can appreciate and/or connect with is a privilege. I can’t bring joy or beauty to others with my poor singing voice, or crummy athletic skills, or musical ineptitude but I can hopefully bring a small measure of these things to others with my artistic gifts in the visual realm.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kerrysimmonsart.com
- Instagram: kerrysimmonsart
- Facebook: Kerry Simmons
