Most people who know Kim Simmonds think of him as one of the architects of the British Blues explosion beginning in the mid-60's. Though he'd never admit it, Kim is truly a self-made renaissance man. He has always been drawn to studying and learning about a wide variety of subjects, but most emphatically in the arts. Simmonds had to carve his own path.

"Looking back nothing was pointing to me doing something artistically except my own drive," Simmonds says. "I didn't have much encouragement that way so I had to find my way. I would go to museums in the summer every day - the history and art museums with my mates."

Simmonds has always read voraciously, which helped him develop a natural ability in writing.

"There was always an imaginative story portion of the English exams which would bring up the rest of my grades," Simmonds says. "I was pretty good at art class in high school, but that didn't register with me. I showed some natural aptitude but I didn't develop it. It always appealed to me but I didn't know anyone doing it. The reason I picked up guitar is because there were lots of bands around and music around so I went that route. The art world seemed a couple of steps removed from me."

Having moved to London at age 13, the British music scene was flourishing with bands mixing blues, pop and rock. Simmonds bought a build-it-yourself guitar from a magazine and spent the next two years holed up in his room, teaching himself to play. At 15 he announced to his family that he was quitting high school and went to work as a clerk, which only motivated his guitar playing as his best option for a career.

By 17, Simmonds and his band Savoy Brown had become internationally renowned and was key in exporting American blues music back to the United States, along with Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. And while Clapton and Hendrix went on to superstardom, an ill-fated deal for Savoy Brown with Mo Ostin at Atlantic actually carved the path that this renaissance man was meant to travel.

"As a musician, I thought I was a huckster for a long, long time because I didn't have formal study - I didn't even finish high school," Simmonds says. "Everything I've done has been self taught, listening to records and reading books."

About 10 years ago, Simmonds finally decided to try his hand at the visual arts.

"I went to the library and read books," Simmonds says. "I started with watercolor. That was a lot of fun. I started with water colors then I moved into acrylics and then went finally to oils. I am currently experimenting with water mixable oils. I'm drawing all the time with pen, pencil, crayon and charcoal."

Simmonds new solo album, 'Out Of The BLUE' features one of his very first paintings as the album cover.

"I tend to paint hurriedly, frantically," Simmonds says. "I finished that one and said to myself, that looks really good! I don't know why it looks good; it just hits you. And when it doesn't it's extremely frustrating. It's much like songwriting. Painting forces me to look outside the box and really helps me to use that technique when writing songs."

For Simmonds, the artwork feeds the songwriting and the songwriting feeds the artwork. He also has a book in the works, but painting and music are his main areas of creativity right now.

"Painting requires focus and ability to really brainstorm and work through." says Simmonds. "I tend to do a lot of research, sketching and reflection before attacking the canvas. Its problem solving - what is working and what is not. That is especially challenging with abstracts. What do you need to do to be satisfied with something over time?"

Simmonds never considered going public with his works except through encouragement of friends and family.

"There's only a handful of people who have seen what I've been doing for the last ten years," Simmonds says. "I never thought of making something pleasing to others, only what I could do to make something pleasing to me."

His works are charged with emotional passion and are immediately entertaining and satisfying over time. Works will be posted throughout the year.

"I think the reason I've gone onto painting is that I'm reaching for that early spirit as a young boy," says Simmonds. "I think that's always good to hold onto."

by Steve Ozark 12/08