Geraldine Simmons is an English born mixed media artist who studied under both Val Kemsley and Pina Bartolo. Simmons draws mostly wildlife as she understands the simple fact that animals are great teachers of unconditional love and what it means to live in balance. Now more than ever in this new world order of bush fires, mass deforestation, illegal wildlife trade and even Covid - 19, Simmons is inspired to raise awareness to the massive wake up call we are now receiving.

Simmons elaborated further on her dedication to artistically portraying wildlife by saying “ When I draw wildlife I feel inspired to reach others through the beauty and innocence that shine from an animal’s eyes. It is this example of love that the world so desperately needs right now to heal the fear, poverty, false sense of power generated by many of our political leaders and corporate giants and the greed that is destroying our natural world.”

Simmons specialises in mixed media that includes coloured pencil, pastels and gouache. She works in layers, building on one colour upon the next to attain light, shade, tone and texture that leads to a realistic effect. She mainly uses gouache for fur detail and her finishing touches, like the glint in an eye using a fine tipped watercolour paintbrush. Simmons also likes experimenting with different tones of paper to mix things up.

The “Cyclist With a Beard” may seem like a diversion from the norm, but to me, it falls in line with what Simmons prefers to portray. When asked about this piece Simmons said, "I painted this portrait of my husband as a way of saying 'thank you' for all the selflessness and sacrifice in support of my art practice over the past 26 years. His loyalty and unwavering devotion carries through to the running of his cycling club that he founded in 1981. Behind the beard is someone who is reserved and quietly strong yet charmingly eccentric and not afraid to be an individual. I aspired to show these characteristics through this artwork".

At it’s core, Simmons work seems to be about portraying an emotion that, unfortunately is both a human right and a luxury, Love. She expresses her love for wildlife, the environment, and her husband through her work, which I think we all can consider to be a noble feat that acts as a beacon of hope at a time when it is easy to have none.

To explore more of Geraldine Simmons’ work :

Website: geraldineswildlifeart.com 

Social Media links: https://au.linkedin.com/in/geraldinesimmons 

https://www.facebook.com/GeraldinesWildlifeArt