California-based artist Simon Bull’s work is collected by royalty, heads of state, museums and private collectors. Some of those collectors, along with art lovers from around the First Coast, came to meet Bull and admire an exhibition of his paintings Friday, Oct. 11 at Cutter & Cutter Fine Art in Sawgrass Village in Ponte Vedra Beach.
“We have close to one hundred pieces here,” said Mark Cutter, one of the owners of the family-run business that also has a gallery in St. Augustine. “He is a prolific painter.”
Bull was the official artist for the 2019 National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C, and some of his colorful pieces from that event are featured at Cutter & Cutter. So is a series of “plein aire,” or painted onsite, images of Yosemite National Park, which are being exhibited for the first time anywhere.
“When I’m out in the countryside, I go out and paint,” said Bull, whose wife, Joanna, also attended the exhibition of his work. He said growing up in Hong Kong, he was “very much influenced by Asian art.” For his cherry blossom paintings, he said he loves “the story telling aspect of cherry blossoms as a spiritual renewal.” Pointing to one of his largest cherry blossom paintings, he described the symbolism of the branches and flowers as: “Life is a journey and to get to your destination life takes many twists and turns. Branches come down from above. Wisdom comes down from above. The branches break into flowers, full of life.”
“Bull is especially popular and well known in California and Europe,” said Cutter & Cutter Marketing Director Scott Dingfelder. “For all his accolades and his popularity, he cannot keep his gallery filled.”
The exhibition in Ponte Vedra Beach gives North Florida residents a chance to view and purchase numerous examples of the artist’s works and will be on exhibit through October.
