* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.
Greg Simkins was born and raised in Torrance, California, just outside of Los Angeles. He grew up on a diet of Cap’n Crunch and Saturday morning cartoons. Upon his discovery of the Crayon and gleaning inspiration from cartoons, Greg began drawing on his parents’ walls and unearthed his calling. His desire to create quickly grew into a full-time obsession and later, a career. In 1993, Greg was introduced to the spray can, which became the deviant impetus behind his art career. It was through this medium, along with the influence of other graffiti artists, that his artistic style evolved. Throughout the years, Greg explored other mediums and now creates mainly with brushes and acrylics and pen and paper, though he still picks up the spray can to paint murals from time to time. Greg’s art is seen in a wide variety of industries from clothing to video games and has also come to life in the form of toys. His style of creating familiar characters placed in other worldly situations has created successful work that contains stories that are both hidden and on the surface. Greg is represented by Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, CA and his work also appears in other galleries throughout the United States.
"We met Greg Simkins almost ten years ago, while he was working for a video game company. We stumbled onto his work on the Internet, and immediately emailed him. He came in with his wife Jenn, who is now his manager, and he told me his dream was to just be a full-time gallery artist. Fast forward to 2012, and he's one of the most sought after painters in the world. He went from hoping to sell pieces for a few hundred dollars to selling out full shows and having collectors shell out $50k for one piece. We had 7 exclusive years with him, and seeing him develop has been one of the most rewarding things of running G1988."
