ART

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

Manchester-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”

‘Big Band’ by Craig Simpson

How did you first get into painting?

I was very creative growing up, always busy making things out of household items and cardboard boxes, taking mechanical objects apart to see how they worked and then trying to put them back together, and I enjoyed drawing too. Even though I was interested in art and design, I came down to Brighton to study music performance.

After four years of studying music intensely, I woke up one day and had the sudden urge to start painting. Even though I was interested in art as a youngster, I had never been taught or studied how to paint or draw. This really appealed to me after many years of technique and theory from studying music. I needed to be creative on my own without the influence of anyone else, and painting seemed to be the perfect medicine.

Your latest collection is centred around the jazz greats of the mid-century. What is it about these subjects that appeals to you?

The most important thing, after exploring different subjects and periods, was that I wanted to concentrate on figurative painting. As long as I can remember I’d been interested in the period between the 1940s and 1960s. 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.

Your influences also seem to include mod culture and 60s kitchen sink realism cinema.

Coming from Manchester and moving down south, I have witnessed a hint of that north/south divide which is summed up perfectly in those black and white 60s films. But it’s the colour palette I can imagine from those pictures I’m attracted to. I now use quite a limited colour palette, mostly primary colours for mixing skin tones as well as brown, ochre, black and warm white, as lead white is unfortunately now unavailable. I’m also fascinated

‘Woman in Orange Dress’

with the aesthetic and capturing an almost ‘movie still’ of smoky, poorly lit rooms, focusing on one side of a figure’s features highlighted by a candle or the warm glow of a bulb. I love the way in which these simple scenes create a mood and can tell a story from one image.

Dow much do the subjects you paint influence your dress style?

Very much! The clothes I wear are very much inspired by those mid to late fifties hardbop jazz musicians, who were influenced by the ivy league style of the time. It’s an effortlessly cool look, which was modern and sleek and which also complimented the forward thinking musicians and their music. Think button-down regular-fit shirt, high-rise flatfront trouser, 3/2-roll natural shoulder sack jacket and a pair of penny loafers. It’s a super cool look, but not as easy to pull off as these guys would have you think. The eye was in the detail, the way the soft roll on the shirt collar had to be just so, and a oneand-three-quarter inch cuff on your trousers sitting above the loafer. Details many people wouldn’t notice, but they are what makes a good outfit great. If any of your readers want to explore this style, I’d recommend researching the jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan, he was always my personal favourite musician and go-to for style ideas.

How did the John Simons portraits come about?

I’d been a customer of John Simons for some years before the portrait was commissioned. I was in London visiting a couple of galleries and popped into the shop. John was there and we were talking about art as well as music and clothes. John was

‘Harlem Dancers’

showing me some of the modernist miniature sculptures he had made, so I decided to show him some of the portraits I was currently working on. I wasn’t expecting anything to come from it, it was just a pleasure to talk to the man himself. Anyway, a couple of weeks later I received a message from his son Paul, asking if they’d be able to commission a painting of the two of them.

Which artists influence your work?

There are far too many to name, but I suppose the main artist I’ve taken influence from is Lucian Freud. His technique is groundbreaking and in my opinion he is one of the greatest figurative painters. But it’s not just his painting style that intrigues me, I’m also fascinated by him as a person, painting every day of his life and dedicating his entire life to painting the human form. There are some great

‘Theolonius Monk Portrait’

photographs of Freud from the 50s & 60s, hanging out with Bacon, Auerbach and Minton in famous Soho bars and clubs.

I’m also a big fan of Edouard Vuillard, the French painter and part of the post impressionist group Les Nabis (The Prophet). Vuillard was largely known for his intimate interior scenes of the people he knew, including his family, and combined lavish textures of prints, patterns and colour in the wallpaper and cloth.

Is your work available to purchase?

As well as selling the jazz pieces, I also do commissions. Some that I really enjoy working on are working from old 40s/50s photographs of people’s parents or grandparents and creating them into a painting. I use my imagination to transform a black and white image into colour. Having a good knowledge of the era is important to get a realistic representation, down to the colours of the clothing from particular decades. n