Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Simone.
Hi Robert, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My dad was my first inspiration. He was talented amateur artist. And I’m sure he dreamed about being a professional. But he had to help support his brothers and sisters. So he never got the opportunity. As a toddler I enjoyed sitting on his lap as he sketched to pass the time. There are childhood memories of painting watercolors alongside him in the basement of our family home east of Cleveland, Ohio. I did my first painting when I was four. It was a still life of stuffed animals that were staged on an old piano. I called it “Dogs On Piano”. That sounds a bit strange to me now. At age four I already knew about still life? How is that possible? But it’s true. I guess I was already looking at art books and encyclopedias.
I did a lot of drawing and painting in my teen years. And took adult drawing classes at a local community college. I wasn’t a young savant or anything but I got better and better. That’s about the time I started going to art museums with my buddies. Our parents allowed us to take the bus into the city. We went to the Cleveland Museum of Art .where I saw famous artwork by the likes of Van Gogh and Rembrandt for the first time. I found those paintings fascinating.
One of the art museums we frequented was the Dali Museum in Beechwood, Ohio. Naturally his works seemed a little strange. But his skill came through. The quality of his drawing and paint handling were astounding. Little did I know that someday I would live in St. Petersburg, Florida and that same collection of Dali works would be a mile and half from our home.
Through seeing the great paintings by the greatest artists of antiquity I had fallen in love with the fine art of painting. I thought of those artists as the smartest people that ever lived, I wanted to be just like them. I always knew that’s what I wanted to do.
Sadly that early passion began to dissipate once I went to college. The school I chose offered a degree in Fine Art/Painting but the curriculum wasn’t what I had hoped. The focus was exclusively on abstract expressionism. And I longed for the meat and potatoes of traditional realism. After a couple of lost years essentially spent majoring in frisbee and bong hits, I left school and went about the business of figuring out how to make a living. I bounced around from one menial job to another until I was totally disillusioned. Not knowing what to do, I packed my belongings and moved in on a brother in Tampa, Florida. It was okay. But I still had no real sense of direction.
In the 80’s I started mowing lawns. Because of rapidly growing urban sprawl the business thrived. I bought a house on a golf course, new vehicles and a boat. Got a captain’s license. Ran scuba charters and did a ton of spearfishing. Life was good. I even went back to college receiving a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering. But I loved the independence of owning the lawn business so I never used the degree. And I never drew or painting a single thing in all those years.
I married my wife Penny in ’98. That’s about the time the old passion for painting resurfaced. Apparently the embers were still smoldering. I took my new wife to art museums, art festivals and galleries. I loved to criticize the paintings. She quickly figured out that I was a frustrated artist. She encouraged me to take some painting classes from a local artist. The rest is history.
Soon I discovered a growing trend called “en plein air”. That’s French for “in the open air”. In plain English it means painting outdoors on location. The thought of setting up on a street corner or other public space was terrifying. But I knew instinctively that doing so would be the best way to develop the painting chops I needed.
I devoted myself to it as often as I could while still working the lawn business. I kept my head down, kept striving. I entered local plein air events. And received a few awards here and there. But the goal was always bigger than that. I wanted the challenge of competing against the best artists out there. Eventually I started getting into events around Florida. I did okay. No doubt I thought I was better than I was. But perhaps the overestimation of my own ability is what fueled my determination. I believed I could do it regardless of my lack of training and pedigree. I took workshops from renowned artists. I kept painting and putting myself out there. Eventually I sold the lawn business so I could paint full time. That was 2007. There were several thin years struggling to pull my weight. I taught local painting classes and did side jobs to help make ends meet. All the while my wife remained supportive. Somehow we survived.
In the mid 2010’s I started getting into national level plein air events with some regularity. My worked started receiving recognition. There was an Artist Choice Award at Plein Air Easton 2015. A First Prize at Lighthouse Plein Air 2017 in Jupiter, Florida. Then a Best of Show at Plein Air Southwest in Galveston, Texas came in 2019. Some of the plein air events took a hiatus during the Covid years of 2020 and 2021. So I entered my work in high level shows like the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS) and Oil Painters of America (OPA) exhibitions. I won’t say that instant success happened because it didn’t. But gradually my work started to receive more recognition. There was the 2nd Prize in NOAPS Best of America Small Works Exhibition 2020. Best Landscape in NOAPS Best of America Small Works in 2023. And Best Seascape at the OPA Eastern Regional in 2023. Other awards in online competitions came along, too!
In 2024 something really special and unexpected happened. After years of failing, I finally got back into Plein Air Easton. That event in Easton, Md is the top plein air painting competition in North America. It attracts the best artists, the most collectors and does the most sales. This was only my third time being juried in. For me just getting in was a big deal. I wasn’t a newbie so I knew what to expect. Everyone there is very, very good. The best of the best. I was thrilled to be among them. I felt I could hunt with the big dogs. I was determined to give it all I had.
Long story short…Plein Air Easton 2024 was amazing. The overall quality of the competition pieces was mind boggling. My biggest piece was my best piece. I was happy with it. And that’s all I could ask. The rest was out of my control. I am fond of telling students that “Good things happen when you paint!” That statement turned out to be a self-fulling prophecy.
When time came for judge Nancy Tankersley to announce the awards she started from the Honorable Mentions and worked towards the Grand Prize. I think there were 15 awards in all. I thought I had a good shot at an Honorable Mention or a secondary award. But she went all they way through those lesser awards without calling my name. I found myself trying to guess which one of my colleagues would get THE CALL. As my mind wandered I heard her say, “The Grand Prize Award for Plein Air Easton 2024 goes to Robert Simone….”! What? Wow? I could hardly breath! Time stopped for a moment as I choked back tears and strode to the stage in a state of stunned euphoria. I tried to accept the award as graciously as possible. And to be gracious in accepting every congratulatory remark. But honestly, I have no idea what I may have said in those moments. It was all so surreal. Like those Dali paintings which I admired so long ago.
The main takeaway from this artist’s journey is that good things DO happen when you paint. So, artists, keep your head down and keep painting. There will always be artists that are more talented and more accomplished. But on any given day, whether you expect it or not, your best work can rise to the top.
Remember being an artist is about being in it for the long haul. You’re never as bad as your worst painting and you’re not as good as your best. So take the failures and victories in stride. Keep painting. Learn to be happy for the success of others. Do it for the love of it and good things will happen.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The main challenge is producing high quality, truly original work. Doing so depends on the development and maintenance of real skills. It’s not just a matter of expressing one’s self on canvas. It’s a matter of building the level of skills that enable the artist to express complex ideas with simple, poetic clarity. At the same time, great paintings look loose and easy. But that’s not the way they’re produced. It’s about holding yourself to high standard. And working hard. Some day’s you’re on. Some days you just don’t have the rise on your fastball. On those days you have to grind. The market doesn’t care if you were having a good day or an off day. It just wants something that resonates and stands out So, the artist has to have skills, confidence, experience and determination to draw on when things aren’t going smoothly. That’s the reason they call it art-work. If it were easy everyone would have paintings in the Met!
An integral part of facing that challenge is fostering continual growth and freshness. It’s been said that the difference between amateurs and professionals is that amateurs want to know the secrets, while professionals want to master the basics. I think that’s true. The way top artists foster continual growth in their work is by mastering the basics. Continual growth is the key to staying motivated and keeping one’s work fresh. The basics are the foundation upon which we build. You have to know the rules before you can break them. The potential for breaking new ground in one’s work is therefore rooted in mastering basics.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
For me each painting is a prolonged meditation on the beauty that surrounds us. Sometimes extraordinary beauty is found in the most grandiose settings. Sometimes it’s found in ordinary places. Either way, there is an evidential power in beauty that leads us to contemplate things beyond the temporal. St. Thomas Aquinas said that beauty is a reflection of God’s goodness and perfection. With that in mind I see my work as pursuing truth, goodness and beauty one brushstroke at a time.
That begs the question, what is beauty? In the context of fine painting, beauty is the combination of qualities, such as shape, color or form that pleases the aesthetic senses. So, I am constantly seeking the variations of those qualities that, when taken together, resonate with people as beautiful. It’s not an exact science. It involves both logic and intuition. And it relies on constant observation of one’s surroundings. In that sense, my work is about noticing and comparing subtleties of visual phenomenon in a way that is only required if one paints.
As such painting is a very deep well that’s full of surprises. The simplest things can strike us as the most beautiful. Leonardo Da Vinci said, “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication”. We all have a tendency to assume that sophistication equals results, brilliance and intelligence. But that’s not always the case. As it pertains to art, the simplest ideas are the easiest to understand. Viewers are often more intrigued by what the artist left out than what he put in.
Taken further, the greatest art is a balance between the literal and poetic. It’s part mind and part soul. It’s part explanation and part suggestion. Great painting is therefore a pursuit of something that is not altogether quantifiable. But we know it when we see it. It’s a combination of what’s learned and what comes naturally. That’s why I prefer representational painting to other types. It challenges me the most. And it has the most potential being something beautiful.
So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Among the things that matter most are the camaraderie of other artists and the support of collectors and those who share our stuff on social media.
Painting is very much a solitary pursuit. It involves spending a lot of time alone at the easel. It’s also something a very small percentage of people do. And an even smaller percentage do for a living. Friends and family often admire us for what we do and provide a modicum of moral support. And that’s important. But their frame of reference is limited That’s why the camaraderie of other artists is so valuable. Other artists know the ups and downs. They get the struggles. They may well have figured out something you haven’t. And their painter’s eye can be valuable to spotting trends, good or not so good, in your work. An honest critique from trustworthy artist friend is invaluable. Beyond that, just having someone to talk to who shares the same passion is like having oxygen rich air to breath.
Artist’s need collectors who support them by acquiring their work. Without them we cannot continue to create. Likewise, the world needs art collectors. In a day and age where art appreciation has been all but eliminated from school curriculum where would we be without collectors to preserve artists’ work for posterity. What would New York be without the Metropolitan Museum? Where would St. Petersburg be with it’s three great art museum’s? I shudder to think about it.
Artists also need supporters who share their work on social media. We need publishers who support us buy telling our stories. Collectors, supporters, followers and publishers are at the heart of what matters.
Beyond all that it’s truth, goodness and beauty that truly matters. Where would we be without it?
Pricing:
- 12″ x16″ $1500
- 16″ x 20″ $3000
- 30″ x 30″ $5000
- 40″ x 60″ $12000
- 8″ x 10″ $700
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.robertjsimone.com
- Instagram: @robertjsimone
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robert.j.simone and https://www.facebook.com/robert.j.simone.fine.art/
- Twitter: @robertjsimone
- Youtube: @robertjsimone
Image Credits
All images copyright Robert J. Simone
