Paintings artwork by Jack Simcock

Available artwork by Jack Simcock

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Sheds and Trees - by Jack Simcock

Shed Wall and Trees - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 15-2001 - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 24-2001 - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 1197 - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 72-4-19 - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 4796 - by Jack Simcock

Coloured Abstract 895 - by Jack Simcock

Midnight Till three Poems Book by Jack Simcock - by Jack Simcock

Simcock Mow Cop - Autobiography Book - by Jack Simcock

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Jack Simcock

Jack Simcock Favourite Medium

Paintings

About Jack Simcock

Born in Biddulph, North Staffordshire a then mining valley close to The Potteries, Jack Simcock, son of a coalminer was surrounded by dark skies and moors. His father never wanted Jack to be a coal miner so encouraged him to follow a different path. Jack studied at Burslem Technical School, where his aptitude for technical drawing led to work in an architect’s office. Conscripted into the army and posted to the Royal Army Medical Corps he was set the task of painting instructional posters on hygiene where he started painting seriously, and decided he wanted to go to art school.

Leaving the army in 1949 as ‘Smicko’, an aspiring commercial artist Jack was helped by his father to study at The Burslem School of Art, an excellent training ground in fine and decorative arts, in the heart of the ceramic industry. During this time at The Burslem School of Art and for some time afterwards Jack had Arthur Berry another greatly admired North Staffordshire Artist as a mentor.

Following his training in 1953 Jack took a job as art master at Lawton Hall School, a private school in Cheshire where he worked until 1967. During this time as well as starting a family Jack made connections in London where he begun annual one-man shows at the Piccadilly Gallery and various provincial venues, well reviewed and often selling-out, with occasional sales to celebrities.

The creative urge to Jack Simcock was so great that having painted in his studio for many hours his relaxation would consist of writing, composing music, or occasional forays into sculpture. His autobiography ‘Simcock Mow Cop’ and book of poems ‘Midnight till three’ were both published in 1975.

During his career Jack Simcock had over fifty solo exhibitions. Highlights included an open-house exhibition at his home on Mow Cop in 1966, a major exhibition (his largest ever) at Salford City Art Gallery in 1968, and an exhibition combining paintings and photographs at the Towner Art Gallery, Eastbourne, in 1979. The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery held a retrospective in 2001.

Over the years works were acquired for a number of public collections, including the Tate Gallery and a scatter of municipal art galleries in the midlands and north.


Jack Simcock Art – ‘Traditional’
The trees and landscapes of the moors are the subjects instantly associated with the traditional work. The trees are always bare and the roofs are always wet. He would wait for the combination of rain and a certain kind of light to make the roofs shiny before he would venture out sketching.
The resulting gloomy landscapes under light skies give a monochrome effect. There was much subtle use of dark browns and dark reds and dark blues and dark greens. Jack painted in oils on hardboard, mainly using a palette knife, which itself imparted a characteristic rugged texture.

Jack Simcock Art – ‘Colour’
Jack Simcock’s painting career hit its height in the 60’s and 70’s and totally in character Jack turned his back on anything commercial, usually refusing commissions.

In the 1980s he changed his style – not for the first time, though the pale ‘misty’ landscapes had proved popular and seemed a natural progression. But the new, more shockingly colourful paintings, which were in fact an evolution from the misty landscapes, and later from the stylised heads, alienated his London dealer and his established collectors.

Jack continued painting but by this time rarely exhibited.

2012 saw the last opportunity Jack had of preparing an exhibition. Enduring ill health working with the help and support of his daughter, Jack was to exhibit alongside old friends Arthur Berry and Enos Lovatt at the Keele University, Staffordshire. It would include the colourful work of his last ‘period’ that he believed were the true development of ‘otherwise inexpressible creative passions and artistic integrity’. Sadly, the day before the opening of the exhibition, Jack passed away at his home in Mow Cop, Cheshire aged 82 years.

Exhibitions

Numerous all over the world.

Jack Simcock Education

The Burslem School of Art 1949-1953