Some artists settle into a single medium, mastering one set of tools to tell their stories. Kerry Simmons prefers to roam. Her studio is a playground of possibilities—colored pencils stacked neatly in tins, jars of oil paints gleaming with rich pigments, delicate egg tempera panels awaiting careful layers, and sticks of charcoal ready to leave their soft, smoky mark. Each medium offers her a different voice, a different way to express the characters and worlds that seem to spill effortlessly from her imagination.
Simmons’s work has a way of feeling both timeless and vivid, steeped in narrative detail. Her subjects are often characters that seem plucked from elaborate, otherworldly tales—people who exist in intricate landscapes or rooms so meticulously rendered they could almost be stepped into. Her imagery has even been transformed into fabric patterns and used for companies like Anthropologie, carrying her storytelling into an entirely new dimension of form and function.
This piece is in oil and a self portrait. Kerry has created countless self-portraits over the years and each is a wonderful window into her gentle soul.
Her recent oil on canvas, All in Clover (22" x 28") pictured below, captures this narrative richness perfectly. In it, a young girl lies in a lush bed of clovers, her patterned dress echoing the organic shapes around her. The surface of each leaf feels tangible, yet the real magic lies in her gaze—her eyes mirror the sky above, inviting viewers to imagine what she might be dreaming about. It’s a piece that feels both intimate and expansive, grounded in realism yet humming with quiet wonder.
Whether it’s the precision of a finely sharpened colored pencil, the layered luminosity of egg tempera, or the depth and richness of oil paint, Kerry approaches each medium with the same devotion to detail and storytelling. Her work invites you to linger, to step inside the worlds she creates, and maybe to carry a bit of their magic with you when you leave. As an artist that loves creation in all forms I understand the true talent it takes to master different mediums; think of the musician Prince playing countless instruments and not just playing them but playing them well - that's Kerry's ability level.
Ok and finally, this piece below is in oil and is probably about 15 years old** and I still think about it. Look at how it's a mostly black painting with shapes carved out of it and that touch of light hitting the bedpost.
**Kerry was one of our first artists and has been with us for 20 years now. Time is a very strange thing.
In the art world, there’s a strange paradox: the more consistent your work looks, the more “successful” you might appear. Many artists are rewarded for creating a recognizable brand—painting the same subject or using the same style over and over until it’s instantly identifiable. Think of Hunt Slonem’s endless bunnies or Andy Warhol’s repeated Marilyns and soup cans.
While this repetition can be commercially rewarding creating brand recognition, it can also become a creative trap. When an artist is pigeonholed, the work risks feeling formulaic, and the artist may feel disconnected from the curiosity and experimentation that first drew them to art. The pressure to “stay on brand” can stifle growth, making each brushstroke feel more like meeting a quota than following inspiration. In the end, the very thing that made their work exciting can lose its spark—both for the artist and for those who first fell in love with it. So, I'll simply say this, "be like Kerry" and let your creative vision take you wherever it wants to go. Try new things and remind yourself that you are an artist and that means THERE ARE NO RULES.
