Before he could write, James was drawing. At the age of two he scrawled on a piece of lined paper and declared “It’s a worm”. Armed with his battered briefcase filled with pencils and paper his father would bring home from work, he was always drawing.

“Drawing was the one thing I knew I could do as well as anyone,” he says now. “I was entered in minor contests in school growing up and always did well. I didn’t think much about it, because it was always just my thing.”

As high school came to an end, he was accepted into the Herron School of Art at the Campus of Indiana University, Purdue University at Indianapolis, the skills in drawing being the main reason he was accepted.

“My professors remembered my portfolio and my drawing skills and knew immediately everything else would come easy. And it’s what I believe; that the visual arts comes from being able to draw. To be able to see things and interpret them onto paper via the pencil is crucial,” James explains. “Once you can draw something to look like your reference, I believe that creating can come easier. Not easy, per se, but easier.”

James Simon

Artworks by James Simon

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Skull Study One by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Torso Study One by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Monsieur Rodin by James Simon

Pencil drawing

After Leonardo - Fabric study; sleeve by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Mamie by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Hand Study by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Washington after Houdon II by James Simon

Pencil drawing

After Rodin Detail from the Burghers of Calais by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Washington after Houdon by James Simon

Pencil drawing

POTUS by James Simon

Pencil drawing

Yellow Lily by James Simon

Drawing

Red Apple by James Simon

Pencil drawing