My name is Simone Padmore and I am an artist from Barbados. I have loved art from a very young age and it was always my priority to pursue art. I attended the Barbados Community College where I received my Associate’s Degree in Visual Arts in 2008 and my Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA), majoring in Studio Art in 2011.  When it comes to art I would describe myself as obsessive. I use a lot of detail in my work and this obsession was discovered in the latter part of my studies in the BFA programme. I usually work on an average (22×30) to large scale. I rarely produce small drawings.

I am interested in the themes of ‘Identity, Dreams and Pop-Culture’. Surrealism, which features the likes of Salvador Dali, is my favourite artistic movement. I found this work inspiring from a young age. I love the notions of the whimsy, fantasy and dreamscapes. I use a lot of exaggeration in my work – in the details I draw, as well as the subject matter.  I was also inspired by Barbadian artist and my former tutor in my BFA programme, Ewan Atkinson, as well as Trinidadian artist Christopher Cozier, who caught my attention when he visited the college and did a presentation.

I found myself wanting to better my drawing style after I had stared in awe at their drawings. They were the first Caribbean artists on whom I seriously focused.  In all, what is important to me is developing my art and challenging myself to become more obsessive, rather than trying to outdo other artists.

To see more of Simone’s work visit: http://www.behance.net/simone-padmore