In this issue of Community Update, we are proud to be honouring Neil Simone at The Chapel Gallery with our Commitment to Excellence Award.
Neil Simone is adroit at painting mysterious, fata morgana illusions of nature colliding with linear wall spaces, all juxtaposed with striking shapes, bold colours and opulent, gold frames. Working from his beautiful, converted chapel gallery, complete with original stained-glass windows, this self-taught artist has sold original paintings all around the world.
His trademark style of realism fused with illusion has captured art lovers everywhere; earning him the worthy reputation of one of Yorkshire’s best loved painters.
Hailing from London originally, he made Yorkshire his home in 1970, after a previous visit had made him feel like, he had ‘come home.’ You might be hard pushed though, to find romanticised paintings of lush, rolling dales or moody images of wild, windswept hills. Neil is inspired by the beautiful Yorkshire Dales but it is not the subject of his work, per se.
There might be a passing reference to a farmhouse or dry-stone wall but Neil is more interested in transporting you beyond a ‘pretty view:’ to different ways of seeing, worlds within worlds, layered realities. The painting, ‘Adrift,’ for example, is astonishing: at first viewing, you see a singular glacier moving across the sea. On closer inspection, the sea is fragmented, each an individual piece of frozen ice or glass, reflecting the solitary journey of the glacier. We spoke to Neil about this painting,
“Adrift, also has a psychological aspect too. As the world moves forward with what we are told is progress, many of us, myself included, are feeling isolated and adrift upon a sea of broken promises.”
Others might feel the painting is a comment on climate change, with glaciers melting, as global temperatures continue to rise.
One of Neil’s favourite parts of the day is inviting art lovers to visit his studio and see his work in the flesh on a personal tour, not just online. Visitors adore his work, commenting, “From the first moment, I saw Neil’s paintings, I fell in love with them,” or “you don’t have to be a professional artist to appreciate art. And you don’t have to get wet on a rainy day in the Yorkshire Dales, so marry these two simple thoughts and pop along to Neil’s gallery, I promise that you will leave with a smile and possibly a print or an original tucked under your arm!”
Neil welcomes visitors from 11am until 4pm, Thursday to Sunday: offering a warm, Yorkshire welcome and plenty of discussions about his beautiful, bewitching art work.
General enquiries
T 01423 711795
Website enquiries:
T +44 (0) 7808989856