Nov 04, 2011
Fab Fridays: Artist Sam Simon
Simplifying Fabulous! with Sam Simon
ABOUT I met Sam Simon at a showroom party and instantly knew he was fit for a Fab Friday feature. (When the conversation revolves around glitter, bling and Tokyo "everything is so designed...even cheeseball packages!", you just know.) Sam is an artist and designer who "primarily creates magical hand painted murals, paintings and graphic patterns." Although he sticks his fingers in many creative outlets, he's most known for his work in children’s spaces and nurseries.We asked Sam how he simplifies his fabulous at work and home. His answers? Fun, inspired and fabulous...just like him!
RB: What are you working on right now?
SS: Currently in my studio there are three large scale projects going on. (I've had as many as 26 separate paintings going on at once.) I’m sketching wildlife for a six-piece collage of paintings for a home in Greenwich, CT. I'm also working on a 6x3 ft underwater landscape for a penthouse in Tribecca. But what is dominating my Brooklyn studio right now is an epic 15x8 ft piece on un-stretched canvas for an event I’m part of next week at the Metropolitan Pavilion in NYC. It will be chinoiserie-inspired, yet filtered through my lens. The branches are fluid and calligraphic, sprouting almond shaped leaves in several tones of fresh green and shimmering oyster finish paint. Sitting on the branches will be a menagerie of my animal characters, all painted in my super cute style. I just LOVE animals! When the painting is complete it will be finished with a gorgeous layer of tiny swarovski crystals. Who doesn’t love a little bling bling!
I would say the biggest challenge, and this is a touchy one…. In my experience most parents sexualize their children before they are even born. I fully understand the notion that most people think pink is for girls and blue is for boys. It is part of our culture. FACT: Pre-WWII, blue was for girls and pink was for boys. Check it.
RB: What do you love most about your home and why?
SS: There are a few things I really love. First, I love my art. One of my favorite pieces is a black and white drawing my niece Lucy did when she was four. The piece is very sophisticated and modern actually. It depicts all these rich thick black swirl lines on a square piece of paper. When I asked her what it was, she replied, “It’s a butterfly in the middle of a curly forest!” She pointed out a tiny butterfly she drew in the middle of all the curly lines. I wouldn’t have ever noticed it. I saw a little of myself in her, and to this day it makes me smile.
I also love about my home that it is mine and it is quiet! I started with nothing, making chalk drawings on the sidewalks of Boston. From my artwork I was able to buy a home in NYC! Amazingly enough, my apartment is stick quiet in the middle of NYC, and I have awesome water pressure. Finding those two things in one apartment in Manhattan is like finding a unicorn.
I created my life, and get to be creative almost every day. I love that my home is quiet, and filled with love, lots of snacks, edible glitter, and fun things to look at. I think people expect to walk into my home and find themselves in Pee Wee’s Playhouse. While there are fun elements to my home, I think it is actually pretty chic.
Each Friday Simplifying Fabulous! presents Fab Fridays, an up-close-and-personal look at how one of our community members simplifies fabulous in their own life. Is there someone you'd like to see featured? Email your submission to info@simplifyingfabulous.com.




Leave a comment