Simeon Stafford

Punch and Judy, Blackpool

2010

Simeon Stafford was born in Dukinfield, UK, in 1959. As a young artist, his landscapes were similar to the gritty northern landscapes of L. S. Lowry and other northern English artists. At the age of 14, Stafford met L. S. Lowry, who encouraged him to paint. Simeon moved to Cornwall in 1996, where he met the artist's Terry Frost and Patrick Heron. Thus his northern roots fused with the influence of color and light from Frost and Heron and the magnetism of West Penwith to create an expressionism within his work, which is both powerful and alluring. Not concerned with angst and soul searching, in his own words - there is enough of that in the world of news today. Stafford's work is deeply idiosyncratic and reflects a world full of incident and accident, with splashes of vibrant color and amusing compositions. He charmingly combines reality and imagination, with many of his paintings featuring characters from his family, including Auntie Dot, the little girl who is constantly doing a handstand, Trixie, the family Jack Russell, who lived until she was 28 and is now stuffed and a resident of Simeon’s bedroom and the black seaside donkey. Widely regarded as one of the country's leading living artists, Stafford exhibited at the Royal Academy in 2001, and in 2003 he became a member of The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. His work can be found in numerous private collections, including those of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and former Prime Minister Tony Blair.