Greg Simkins’ art is surrealist and often features animals and graffiti-style gradients harkening back to his early days.
The animals come from his deep love for them, stemming from childhood pets and also inspired by his favorite cartoons and books. His brushes of choice include Trekell’s Golden Taklons, and he recently collaborated with us to design his own signature set of brushes.
Greg was once a graffiti artist who went by “CRAOLA.” While it taught him color theory and perspective, and gave him the confidence and experience needed to create large works, he’s come a long way since then.
His work has been incorporated into collections of Robin Williams, Fergie, Nick Cassavetes, and Jason Biggs and Jenny Biggs-Mollen. His work has been in museums and galleries all over the world. He developed his own brand over a decade ago which features clothing, merchandise, and accessories.
Greg grew up south of L.A. in Torrance, CA and began creating art at the age of 3. He obtained a B.S. in Studio Art in 1999 and then started out professionally as an illustrator, working with fashion brands and bands.
He then moved on to video games and then catapulted to full-time artist in 2005. His works consist of acrylic paintings of amazing fish, beasts and mammals all interacting. He cites being heavily influenced by books such as Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, and Watership Down by Richard Adams. He has collaborated with Disney, Vans, Converse, Pearl Jam, Linkin Park, and Epitaph, to name just a few on a very long list.
You can watch him in action on his website, where he frequently posts time-lapse videos of his paintings. Be sure to check out Greg’s brush set collaboration with Trekell and grab one for yourself.
