About Fran Simon, abstract artist

I’m a bit of a renegade

You could say I am an emerging abstract artist, but I prefer the term evolving artist. My never-ending  art journey began in nursery school when the teacher gave me a “coloring page”  on which I was supposed to color in the lines. Oh, no! That would not do.  I crushed it into a ball and demanded a plain piece of paper so I could create my own image.  My tendency to defy the art rules continued as a preteen in painting classes where the teacher assigned a still life, but I created an abstract.

Those defining experiences resisting the expected set the tone for pretty much the rest of my journey in art,  and my career in early childhood education, and marketing: Straying from the assignment with a different approach (always abstract and conceptual) was and is just how I roll. Now, evolution is a part of every piece I make because my art is intuitive and expressionistic (for the most part.)

In high school I studied at Alabama School of Fine Arts, where defying the assignments didn’t help me grow as an artist. Then, following high school, I continued as a painting major in college. Despite still having a burning need to create, I lacked confidence in my work and became discouraged. I changed my major and earned a BA and M.Ed. in early childhood education and for the next 30ish years I enjoyed a fulfilling career as an advocate, leader, subject matter expert, technologist, and consultant. Believe me, I was still creating, but not creating much art throughout those years.

Flash forward to 2013 when my family and I experienced a major lifechanging event- after 30 years barely managing a chronic degenerative heart condition, I received the gift of a heart transplant. Recovery was long, and my mindset changed. Over time as I healed and continued to work, I found myself drawn back to painting.  Once I was back on my feet, my hands and heart got to work, creating, finally reconnecting with my art.

Since 2016, I’ve been painting, collaging, and gel-printing, building a collection of hundreds of pieces, some failed experiments, and some I embrace. Most of my work is intuitive, meaning I do not have a vision in mind. I follow my intuition to make marks and shapes that lead to the next. The process begins playfully, until I reach a certain point when I begin to refine (or sometimes, not if I am delighted by the result of my play.