KIM SIMMONDS
A PASSION for PAINTING
Kim Simmonds on stage in Las Vegas
“Sometimes there are no clues it can happen to you out of the blue…” Many hundreds of thousands, if not millions of a certain age and taste in music, will recall these words: “This is The Boogie — the Savoy Brown Boogie”, emanating from a charismatic singer with a stove pipe hat and shabby fur coat on stages in ballrooms, auditoriums, college campuses, rock festivals and the fabled Filmores coast to coast as well as across in Europe and England, at which point the guitar player would rip out a blazing intro on his Gibson Flying V and the band would be off and running. Kim Simmonds founded and anchored that legendary group in its heyday and still carries the name today, performing concerts around the world, as a solo act and with a leaner version of the Savoy Brown Blues Band. For many years, he let his guitar playing do the talking, but about ten years ago, Simmonds decided to try his hand at the visual arts. “Painting reminds me of my youth,” he said in a recent interview with Fine Art publisher Jamie Ellin Forbes and has unveiled a collection of new paintings (to debut at Artexpo in New York City), one of which graces the cover of his impeccably recorded, extraordinarily played, written and sung new CD, Out of the Blue, “one of the best albums of the year,” according to Blues Revue. Kim, who has performed before massive audiences and sold millions of records over the years, finds that his interest in painting 30 • Fine Art Magazine • Spring 2009
Man With Guitar, oil, 2009, 16” x 20
recaptures some of the energy and excitement of “our glory years.” “That’s something that I try to do anyway — keep that youthful approach to life. For better and for worse that naivete and idealism never quite left me.” Kim, who spent years with a collection of different and sometimes difficult lead singers, has taken on the vocal chores himself of late and his love of the blues is evident in his latest music, as is his love of the hues and subtleties of color and image in these new paintings. “Looking back nothing was pointing to me doing something artistically except my own drive,” relates Simmonds. “I didn’t have much encouragement in that direction so I had to find my way. I would go to museums in the summer every day – the history and art museums with my mates. I went to the library and read books.” Simmonds adds, “I started with watercolor. That was a lot of fun, but it seemed that to be an artist, you have to go with painting. So I started with acrylics and then went finally to oils. I’m now painting with water mixable oils and am finding them to be a lot of fun. I’m also drawing all the time with pen, pencil, crayon and charcoal.”