My mother claimed that Ron was a selfish man, and she was right. He was! His work like an affliction more than a passion, painting for dad was an addiction not a choice. It came before the family his marriage and he certainly didn’t do it for the money. An artist life isn’t all that glorious, there’s allot of hard work involved and countless hours of trial and error. Never the less, dad painted. And that’s all he did - his whole life! I’m jealous! Sometimes I wish I could be so clear and dedicated. Imagine from age 17, you know your path and you just keep on it.
My father was a very simple, humble man. He loved nature; he loved light and water especially. He painted water that looks and feels wet. That’s what his art dealers knew him for. His favourite images and best selling images were his water lilies. He loved Monet.
Our childhoods were filled with long summer drives to the coast, to Maine and Cape Cod where stopping in a field of flowers on the spur of a moments notice was a very normal day to day adventure. Dad would paint, mom would have time to kick back and read her favourite magazines and my sister and I would catch frogs or bugs, or torture each other in the loving way sisters do. Dad would drop us at the beach, go off and paint his famous Lillie scenes; we would drop them off at his galleries, supply them with fresh work, and keep on travelling.
Ron Simpkins was truly happy to be blessed with the honour and freedom to do what he wanted to do each day, paint and enjoy nature. And he did it well. He leaves behind a legacy of beautiful art work I will cherish forever.
He taught me the most important lesson in life and that is to love what you do and do what you love. For a man who loved nature so much so he would freeze outside painting in the winter months, get stung by bees, and attacked by wild geese the list goes on...He passed away in the grass with a smile on his face. An exceptional way to go for a life truly lived in an exceptional way.
Vanessa Simpkins
