Live Artist - Simie Alexander

By Valentina Sanchez

Who is Simie Alexander? She is an innovative artist who takes the art experience to the next level by creating her pieces right on the spot! I had the chance to get to know the person behind the canvas and what inspires her to do what she does.

Simie was born in Boca Raton, Florida where she was “exposed to the arts at a very young age.” When she was 15 years old, she started taking commissions and even opened her successful Etsy shop, "Simskicks," where she sold personalized sneakers all around the world. Her interests took a different direction now that she has stuck to live painting.

VS: Why and when did you start doing live paintings?

Simie: My interest in live painting started in my first year of college. I was attending one of my first music festivals at Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park and was awe-struck with the overwhelming presence of artists creating in the forest amongst all the live music. There was just something so pure and powerful about seeing the progression of their artworks evolve throughout the weekend as they absorbed the energy and interactions within their surrounding environment. A few months later, in November of 2017, I was accepted as a live paint artist for the first time at a music festival. It was a smaller, intimate event called Zen Awakening in Orlando but it was a huge stepping stone for me. I had no idea what to expect and the learning curve was tremendous. The experience was phenomenal and it had me itching to paint for more festivals. Since then, I have grown as an artist more than I could have ever imagined. I’ve painted for many more festivals, some of which include Purple Hatter’s Ball, Harmonic Dream Gathering, as well as live music shows and concerts that range from Miami to Tallahassee. I’ve collaborated with organizations such as #UNLITTER, Always True Collective, and OverEasy Collective to create live performance art for their events as well. This has helped me realize that my real passion and drive comes from the exhilaration of live painting. There’s just something about the vulnerability and exposure as an artist that really helps you connect with others as you lift the curtain behind your artistic process.

VS:Where can people find you?

Simie: People can find me on Instagram and Facebook under @SimieAlex_Art where I post about upcoming events I will be attending as well progress on my ongoing artwork pieces.

-I will be participating as one of the artists in the urban revitalization project in the Downtown Parking Garage mural project.

- I have 2 pieces currently on display at Spliff’s Gastro Pub, attached to 1904 Music Hall in Jacksonville as part of a touring skateboard art show exhibition called ArtsonDeck. The exhibition will continue to Ocala and then Gainesville in the summer.