Walt Simpson:

The images of neighborhoods are like quilts of interconnected color and texture. Some neighborhoods take on  a personality, reflective of the people who live there. The houses represent the smallest element in the community. I have seen houses in the low income neighborhoods painted with bold, bright colors - beautiful and ironic, like flowers in the cracks of pavement. They seem ideal subjects to paint, representing hope and grace in unlikely places.

In my work the land, houses and communities are a design element. They represent my roots in this region: mill-town houses, rural landscapes and present changes. A theme of time and seasons, colors and numbers goes through my work. They are influenced by stories told by old people remininicing about the past. The poetry of night and day in a smiling landscape - primitive representations crossed with daydreams. I want viewers to feel invited to walk down the street or sit on the porch.

Bio:

Walt Simpson lives and works in Charlotte, NC, not far from his home town of Lancaster, SC. The region's people, history and landscapes are the primary inspiration for his work, along with children's art and outsider art. He works at the Charlotte Observer.