Simone Held's take on Surrealism

One thing not a lot of people know about me is that my favourite painters are Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Salvador Dali, who are – respectively – often associated with: bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw portraits; surrealism and depiction of people, plants and animals in unusual juxtapositions; striking and bizarre images in surrealist work. To sum up all those descriptions in one word? Weird! In a very very creative way.

My liking of surrealism was probably the reason why I had some immediate emotional responses to Simone Held’s works. They are simple, yet stunning, atmospheric, and suggestive. The lighting, in particular, is so well done it gives Simone’s pieces a sense of drama. Add Simone's website to your favourites!  

My name is Simone Held and I'm from Germany. Originally, I haven't been professionally involved with art at all: I'm a teacher. I teach English and German to students aged 10-19 and I still like it although it can be a hell of a job sometimes. Art is a good possibility to get rid of all the negative thoughts and vibes... Sadly I can only spend time on my art during the holidays or at the weekends because there's not much time left.

My focus is on photo-manipulation with surreal themes. I sometimes do landscape manipulations too but no matter how "realistic" my works may seem, there's always some surrealism in them as well. 

A Boy and His Best Friend

Angel

Darunter

I often start with a photograph (manipulators call them "stock images") that somehow "affected" me and with a finished concept in mind. I prefer this method as you always know what you're going to do with them. To work the other way round, i.e. starting with a concept, its problem is that you never find stock images that match the concept you've got in mind. You, for most of the times, end up being unsatisfied with the final artwork.

There are no real "themes" that I pursue. I always do what comes to me... I am often asked if there are deeper meanings behind any of my artworks. Sometimes there are, sometimes there are not. Sometimes I just want to convey a certain feeling or mood rather than concept or a message. My dream project would be to do some cover work for a CD or a book that is very successful so that I can say that I was in charge of the artwork ;). 

By the Ceiling

God's Residence

Elton Fernandes is a big inspiration. He's brilliant in concept and skills. Michael Vincent Manolo, my dear friend, is a big source of inspiration too, and I get plenty of inspiration from photographers too.

My best piece of advice...? Perhaps "never give up". For a beginner it's really frustrating because there are so many things that you have to improve, you really don't know where to start and sometimes you just like to throw the towel in and start, "this is it! I'll never get past the beginner's stage anyway!" But it's worth it to go on and improve. 

H.N.