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Sandy’s watercolor paintings capture a sense of serenity and peaceful
contemplation, with the drama of rich color, texture, shadow and light.
Her scenes of California
missions, mission benches, statuary and Spanish architecture remind viewers
of less troubled times in a less complicated world.
Riverside’s “local color” paintings by Sandy Simmons have found homes in many
law firms and professional offices in the
Inland Empire
. Her florals, seascapes,
lighthouses and landscapes appear in many homes and offices along the
California
coast and throughout the U.S.
Originally from rural Southern Illinois, Sandy remembers always loving bright color. Her
first attempt at mixing colors began at the age of five when she melted down
her crayons on her grandfather’s coal chute.
Art classes were nonexistent, so Sandy’s early art experiences were entirely self taught.
She will always remember when her Uncle Henry, a sign painter and
artist, gave her a set of artist’s pastels when she was 12.
This was indeed a treasure!
Since then, Sandy
has learned from persistence and love of the experience (not to mention
finding every conceivable way to ruin a watercolor).
She has learned from workshops with well-known artists such as Tom
Lynch, Dale Laitinen, Stephen Quiller, George James, Donna Watson, and Ted
Nuttal. She began attending
Patricia Allen’s Yosemite Painting Workshops in 2004.
In 1992 a
Riverside
art gallery offered Sandy a one-artist show if she would paint 20 watercolors of the Mission Inn and
local
Riverside
landmarks. This added much
experience in architectural subject matter.
She has established a growing list of collectors in Riverside
and the Inland Empire.
EXHIBITIONS,
EVENTS:
Orange
County
Design Show, Costa Mesa
,
CA, 1990
Plein air artist and exhibitor, Riverside Art Museum’s “Gardens of Rumsey Drive,” 1991
Plein air artist and exhibitor, “Una Sera in un Giardino Italiano,” Riverside, 1992
Exhibition, Wells Art
Gallery, Riverside, CA, 1992
Riverside
Art Museum Selected Exhibitor, 1993
Mission Inn Incredible Gift Corner (1993 – current)
San Juan Capistrano Mission, 1994
Friends of Mission Inn Foundation exhibit 1994
Art-A-Fair Festival, Laguna, California, 1992 – 1998
Textures Interior Design, Riverside,
CA
Mezzanine exhibit of 14 original
watercolors, Riverside
Art Museum, Nov/Dec. 2003
Art Alive, Riverside Art Museum, 2003 and 2005
MEMBERSHIPS:
Board
of Trustees, Riverside Art Museum, 2001 – 2006
Artist member, Riverside
Art Museum
Artist Member,
Riverside
Arts Council
Associate Member, Watercolor West
PAINTINGS
AT PUBLIC PLACES
Chemical
Bank, New York
Mission
Inn, Riverside, CA
Riverside
County
Courthouse, Riverside,
CA
San Bernardino
County
Courthouse, San Bernardino, CA
Appellate
Court, Fourth District, Division Two, Riverside,
CA
Victor
Miceli Law Library, Riverside, CA
Western
Municipal Water District,
Riverside,
CA
Metropolitan
Water District, Riverside
Facility
City
Hall and
Riverside
City Manager,
Riverside, Riverside, CA
RCBA
presentation of painting to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony
Kennedy on his visit to
Riverside Superior Court in 2003
PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:
Gresham
Savage Nolan & Tilden LLP
Best Best & Krieger LLP
Haight, Brown & Bonesteel, LLP
Varner Saleson & Brandt, LLP
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
Law Office of John Vineyard
Law Office of Bernard Donahue
Graves
& King Law Firm
Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of
Riverside
Appellate Court
PUBLICATIONS:
Inland Empire
Magazine, “Putting Color Into Watercolors,” October 1995
Inland Empire
Magazine, June 1997
Inland Empire
Magazine, August 1998
Cover, The Legal Secretary, Nov. 2004 edition
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