Ian worked for a number of design agencies before leaving to follow his other passion - music.
He never stopped painting, however, and worked continually on a commission basis.

Ian Simmons is experienced in all styles and techniques from cartoon / caricature line drawings to oils, acrylics and every medium between.

He particularly enjoys painting portraits and has perfected a technique of painting on top of ink washes, as seen in the image to the right. A tonal image is built up using increasingly darker washes, with corresponding tones masked off, from highlights through to shadows. The masking fluid is then washed away and the detail is painted with gouache or acrylics. This leads to many 'happy accidents' reminiscent of watercolour painting, it also gives the paintings a movement and vitality that adds to the overall effect of the work. As you can see, Ian combines his love of painting and music. Musicians are a favourite subject matter and a large range of these images are included within his portfolio.