Randy Simmons

drawing

Paducah, Kentucky

About the Artist

I have a small studio in McCracken County behind my house where I can make my drawings and store them. I work in charcoal and from my own photography. I use a tone paper process in which I start with a toned piece of paper and work subtractive as well as additive. All portraits are either life size or larger.

About the Work

I make large scale charcoal drawings of people and portraits. Lately, I have focused on my family and have illustrated the changing dynamics of a family as we age and recently lost our mother to dementia and liver disease. My work is inspired by Caravaggio and the Southern Baroque Italian art scene and Renaissance works. My work is mostly auto-biographical, realistic and dream-like in some instances. I make a lot of references to science.