Art
CRAIG SIMPSON Liam Jefferies meets the dapper dauber who combines sartorial exactitude with meticulously created paintings of the periods that inspire him www.csimpsonart.com @craigsimpsonartist
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anchester-born artist Craig Simpson is a man of style, and his works reflect a studied attention to detail that can only be born of a sartorial obsession. Self taught, his works are usually focused on portraiture, interiors and landscapes. A selfconfessed fascination with people compels Simpson to record both the personality and characteristics of his subjects, as is evident in his work. Simpson’s ‘observational oil’ has captured moments in the lives of Brighton-based characters, echoing British 1960s kitchen sink dramas, with solitary interior spaces in Sussex that nod to French and European inspiration. I chatted to Craig about his influences, both sartorial and artistic.
“Bebop and Hardbop were my favourite periods in jazz, and the clothes of that time are a real passion too. So that’s how I ended up concentrating on jazz as a subject matter, it just ticked all the boxes for me and included all my interests in one” 138
