Landscape painter enjoys pieces that move with her
No big baubles but lots of colourful scarves with solid-coloured tops
The first thing you notice when stepping into Sylvia Simpson’s studio is the colour. Bold, lively landscapes, big skies and vibrant alleyways, Simpson captures the energy of the everyday in bursts of jewel and pastel tones, with watercolours and oils, on paper and on canvas.
She enjoys the problem-solving of painting, too, she says. Sketching an object or a scene from different angles, figuring out the best way to express the personality of its shape. “I quite like gesture in paintings and I’m not afraid of colour,” says Simpson, 63, whose working studio/gallery/shop, Creative Works, has been a fixture in Westdale these past 10 years.
And, yes, that love of colour and personality do cross over from professional to personal, she says. Being an artist has definitely influenced how she builds, or rather, simplifies, her wardrobe.
“Some artists can have baubles all over their necks and big, huge rings and everything, but I can’t,” says Simpson, who worked at Mohawk College for 30 years in various roles including high school liaison officer, co-operative education, staff development, and communications. “I’ve got easy sleeves, no clunking, no bracelets always banging into me, no rings, no fuss. I have had jewelry in my life and I have had all these things but, like, enough. They’re not part of my world anymore. I don’t have earrings, I don’t have any necklaces, it’s just easy peasy.”
Simpson now enjoys pieces that move with her, like the pumpkin orange tunic top and black velour leggings she wears here from Amarettos in Dundas that she pairs with glossy maroon Bos. & Co. lace-up boots from Al’s Shoe Factory Outlet in Simcoe. In lieu of jewelry, Simpson opts for a fuss-free oversized paisley scarf in khaki, red and orange, and bold eyeglasses from Westdale Optical.
“I had a lot of people buy me beautiful scarves,” says Simpson of her penchant for wearing scarves. “And because I didn’t have the right colours of tops, and then for a long time tops were, like, what are they thinking? They just looked like splat of wretchedness all over the front. But a solid top? We can talk about that.”
Most eye catching piece:
My glasses. I kind of look right at people, I’m very direct, I have good eye contact ... I’m not really too busy with anything else. And sometimes my hair can be quite busy. It sticks up or it gets longer or it’s really curly.
Quirkiest wardrobe item:
I have a black coat. And because I wear coats and don’t change into work clothes, I’ve been moving wet oil paints around on a slightly windy day and it flattens into my coat and so now I have a black coat with splotches of oil paint all over it.
Wardrobe must have:
I have to have good walking shoes. Because I just dress, my feet say no, you’re not wearing that ... I dress from the feet up. And the joke at my house is, if I say, ‘How do I look? How does my outfit look?’ Well, from the ankles up it looks great, because there are always these homey, sensible shoes happening on the bottom.
Best purchase:
I have a very nervous relationship with shopping. I’m not one of these people who just loves to go shopping because it’s all expectation and fear and dread and unfamiliar territory ... but when I had my first job at Mohawk College as a liaison officer, I thought, I have to get a new wardrobe for this fabulous new job that I have, so I went to Lime Ridge Mall and there was a nice shop there and ... I set it up with this gal, told her I had to get a lot of clothes and we decided to meet at maybe the next Thursday. And so she came in with one of these big wheeled (racks) and I spent the whole afternoon with her and bang! I bought everything. Well, not everything, but about seven or eight brand new outfits ...
I bought a very grown up, splashy outfit to wear to parties. I got it at Modella and it’s … a very light, beautiful evening fabric and then it has sort of like a leggings or pants and the cuffs are like a translucent stripe that is also on the sleeves. And then it just has a simple collar and it kind of flows over and you can move around in it and it’s dressy and you can do everything that you need to do at a party.
Regrets buying:
Any turtleneck. I sometimes forget and I buy these turtlenecks and I put them on and I’m just like, UGH and I have to get them off in two seconds. And then I keep them in my closet for years and years and years, thinking this will change. They’re uncomfortable and I feel like I can’t breathe. It’s too inhibiting. It’s like a straitjacket.
Loves to shop at:
Amarettos and Modella and there are nice dress shops in Paris, Ont. I’ll peek into the gently used dress shops. There’s a fun one in Dunnville.
Ridding her closet of:
I wish someone would rid my closet of these things for me. Because I just get a little stack of things … and then they stay in the little stack and they never get anywhere … things that don’t fit and things that I’ll never wear again … and then I’ll (say) well maybe I’ll just try and then I say, oh forget it. It’s like the way I am with decluttering. I get into the middle and then the middle is the end.
Splurges on:
I splurge on fabulous jackets or a fabulous shirt. I’d like to get a really good country shirt with a nice yolk and some fun buttons … if I see something that really speaks to me and looks comfortable and is really a showpiece, I think for sure it’s worth it.
Beauty product she can’t live without:
My Revlon Super Lustrous Matte Really Red lipstick. It’s really nice lipstick.