Nicholas Simmons uses acrylic paint and watercolors on a large scale to create paintings that are both powerful representations and strong abstractions.
Form
Nicholas Simmons paints in watermedia on a scale that rivals oil painting. The subject matter is a dazzling mix of figures juxtaposed with printed lettering, graffiti, Japanese block prints, neon lights, reflections, and lavish corners of nature. The effect can be disorienting, as though a camera has taken a picture by accident, revealing an image that is both exciting and mysterious. While Simmons works on traditional watercolor paper —usually unstretched 140-lb hot or cold-pressed by Arches or Fabriano— his paints are not exactly traditional.
I use fluid acrylic paint made by Da Vinci in combination with watercolor paint, I use the acrylic like a traditional watercolor,but I find that there are aspects of it that facilitate certain techniques that are not possible with traditional watercolor paint.”
The principal difference between the two mediums is that acrylic is unmovable once it has dried. This allows the artist to secure a great variety of edges and particularly to hold on to hard edges while using flooding or washes on top of them.