Workshops are continually pending and being scheduled. Coordinators interested in contracting Nicholas Simmons for a workshop, demonstration, Photoshop seminar, lecture, or judging, should contact the artist.
The following events are confirmed:
Exhibition - North American Watercolor Artists - Strathmore Mansion - Bethesda, Maryland. January 8 - February 4.
2-day workshop - Plaza Art - Rockville, Maryland. February 4-5.
Contact: 301-770-0500
2-day workshop - Newton Watercolor Society / New Art Center - Newtonville, Massachusetts. March 24-25.
Contact:
Kristi Woodworth 617-964-3424
4-day workshop - Waterloo Watercolor Group of Austin - Austin, Texas. April 2- 5. Demonstration April 1.
Contact: Nancy Charbeneau 512-795-0203
5-day workshop - Utah Watercolor Society - Salt Lake City, Utah. April 30-May 4. Demonstration May 1.
Contact: Joyce Baron 801-375-4933
Judge - Utah Watercolor Society 2012 Annual Open Juried Exhibition. April 2012.
Judge: Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society Spring Show. March 2012
4-day workshop - Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society - Buffalo, New York. May 14-17. Demonstration May 17.
Contact: Carol Case Siracuse 716- 867-9044
Judge and lecture: 2nd Shanghai Zhujiajiao International Watercolor Biennial. June 2012.
5-day workshop - Manoir de Maison Blanche - Dordogne, France. June 18-22.
Contact: manoirdemaisonblanche@orange.fr. +33 553 56 90 55
3-day workshop - Idyllwild Arts - Idyllwild, California. July16 -18. Lecture July 18.
Contact: summer@idyllwildarts.org 951- 659-2171 x 2365
4-day workshop - Acadia Workshop Center - Mount Desert Island, Maine. July 30-August 2.
Contact: Gail Ribas 207-460-4119
Exhibition - International Watercolour Biennial - Belgium 2012. Estaimbourg, Belgium. August 11 - September 2.
4-day workshop - San Diego Watercolor Society - San Diego, California. August 13-16.
Contact: Alice Kayuha (619) 876-4550
Judge: Florida Watercolor Society Annual Exhibition. August 2012.
4-day workshop - Florida Watercolor Society - Orlando, Florida. September 10 -14.
Contact: Jane Collin - 954-532-0017
Judge - San Diego Watercolor Society International Exhibition. October 2012.
Exhibition - Biennale d'Aquarelle de Narbonne - Narbonne, France. October 3 - 28.
Exhibition - 2nd Shanghai Zhujijiao International Watercolour Biennial - Shanghai, China. October 5 - November 10.
3-day workshop - Amelia Island Artists Workshop - Fernandina Beach, Florida. October 26-28.
Contact: Mikolean Longacre 904-415-3900
4-day workshop - Greentree Studio - Lawrenceburg, Indiana. November 2 - November 5.
Contact: Sandy Maudlin 812-539-4505
3-day workshop - Santa Clara Valley Watercolor Society Workshops - San Jose, California. November 12 -14. Demonstration November 11.
Contact: Jeanne de Campos-Rousseau
Thank you so much for opening my eyes; and for changing my life. There's no way I could have absorbed everything that you so openly and generously shared with us, but what I have learned, I will use forever! It's been an honor to be in the presence of someone as talented and kind as you are. Thank you - a million thank yous!!
All the things a great instructor should be this guy has! Creative, inventive, sense of humor, some irreverance that challenges the status quo, challenges his students, inspires students, awes students with his techniques. I learned a great deal from him and suspect he will be a life-changing influence on me. A really nice guy. I think he is so good because he is aware of and observes how students learn and how they are reacting to him.
You are a wonderful instructor. What I hoped to gain - I did. I now understand how you get those special effects and I have a new appreciation for acrylic watercolors that look like traditional watercolors. And your thoughtful comments about common mistakes and little things to try and do to make a painting stand out in a crowd will be very valuable to me as I try to grow as an artist. It was an awesome workshop!
I wanted to thank you for a wonderful workshop. You know it is a good one when people are still talking about it.
Thanks for a great workshop. I enjoyed meeting you and seeing how you work. Thanks for making sure everyone got your full undivided attention. I'm not sure that most teachers do that.
You were great. .You are very funny and always told interesting stories. I just loved that. It was so interesting to see an artist at the top of his game and the fact that you reach out to other artists and told us about them...it was so interesting. You have a great personality. I also liked the way you gave each of us time and advise on our paintings. I did notice that you did that and appreciated it. You have made me really try and stretch, for this class was way out of my comfort zone. I've never tried anything like it. Again I thank you and hope to see you again next year. I'm sure we all want that!
The workshop last week was exciting, inspiring and lots of fun. I came away with a number of new techniques and ideas. And what a surprise to learn how beautiful acrylics can be! I know you must have been exhausted by Friday, but you were very patient and giving even through the last hour of the day. I think everyone really appreciated that.
The workshop was a splendid experience. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of it. Being with a group of people that are into making art at so many different levels was really good for both Barb and I. A wealth of information on looking at different artists ... I really loved that! You are a kick and have a great way of taking the traditional to a new level.
I wanted to thank you for the wonderful week under your direction and inspiration at the workshop in Dallas. Besides being a genuinely nice human being (!!!), a superbly talented and unique artist, you are an outstanding teacher as well. Everything you demonstrated was done so clearly and with the utmost patience. You are very generous sharing with us the intricate details of your original techniques. I feel as if I was given a huge gift. You also gave us so much additional information about artists and art resources. Your upbeat personality and outrageous humor made it all the more fun. Each individual felt that you were genuinely interested in what they were attempting and you spent so much time with each of us. I also loved discovering the Da Vinci fluid acrylics. They are so smooth and color saturated compared to my old Liquitex tubes. I wrote a note to DaVinci about you...and thanked them for the samples. Being in your presence and seeing you work was a great motivator for me.
I'm very glad that I 've met you and participated in your workshop. To tell you trully, my brushes dryed up some time ago, and now you inspired me and I hope tu restart. Thanks! I am crazy about your DVD.
You really are one of a kind...interesting, talented, a really good teacher (don't know how anyone teaches without demos, but some try), and so willing to listen to all our questions and even our silliness! You are a good man, Nickolas, and will go far...so glad to have met you!
I want to thank you for an excellent workshop in Rockville, Md. ! It was stimulating and inspiring- I feel ready to try your techniques on my own. I have to play with it to get comfortable with it of course. I liked your down to earth approach to teaching and sharing your experiences and tips-I think an improtant part of sharing your art is, as you mentioned, the question-"Could I do that too?"-you put it within reach and kept it exciting. I feel honored to have met you and I love your work. To me, meeting you and taking your workshop was definitely worth my trip from Goshen, NY, !!!!
You have a lovely way about you, extremely generous in your teaching, interactions w. people. And you're extraordinarily generous in sharing what materials, matboards, techniques you use!! ( unlike some who use the approach as in giving a recipe but leaving out one key ingredient)
Just wanted to thank you again for a wonderful workshop and enlightening two days. I think you're a first-rate talent with unlimited potential.
Thanks for your patience with me and such a wonderful workshop.
Just wanted to tell you how much I have enjoyed your class. It is just the shot in the arm that I needed to refresh my enthusiasm for painting.
Thank you so much for who you are, for the workshop and for the opportunity to be exposed to your ideas and enthusiasm. Your love of painting comes through in everything thing you do and say. You are an inspiration and I know you will have a wonderful, fulfilling life as both a person and an artist. Any one that goes through life being as passionate and generous as you will draw life to themselves.
This was the most inspirational workshop I have ever taken, and I have taken quite a few! Your enthusiasm for painting is contagious! I really appreciate your generosity in sharing so much of what you have learned. I'm having withdrawal symptoms already. You've really inspired me to reach farther (and larger) in my work. Thanks again for a fabulous workshop!
You are an amazing and generous instructor. I hope to be able to put what I learned into practice.
You dole out lots of inspiration, and I just soak it up.
I love your art so your positive comments mean a lot! SO many people in the workshop were so inspired by you! Several students mentioned to me how they were learning so much. I shall be interested in any new works you create and my best to you on the international scene. We need the US representation there!!!
Thanks for all your help, yours was the best and most imaginative workshop I have ever attended.
Your workshop was the best I've been to....loved the format....
We worked in transparent watercolor and fluid acrylics all week, and I learned more than I've ever learned in any workshop. Incredible. I've been fortunate to be able to take many, many workshops from national watercolorists so I know I'm not exaggerating about how good this one was.
Nick, I hope you really do know how exceptionally gifted you are. You have world class talent. Thank you so much for so generously sharing your gifts with us. I so appreciate all you have done this week, and truly admire you as an artist, a family man, and a great guy. Thanks so much.
I really did feel that I gained a tremendous amount of new knowledge and skills that I hope to use. I could hardly sleep last night, for all the new projects that were being conjured up in my head! You are truly an inspiration. Also, I will definitely be interested in purchasing your DVD when it comes out and any future workshops you will be doing locally or maybe Italy.
She's right, you are the Best Workshop Instructor. You gave us so much information that we never really heard or talked about before, not to mention your new and innovative techniques in painting.
We were very fascinated with your many innovative techniques. Although we may not be able to paint like you, it will be interesting to try these new ideas out in the context of our own styles.
Wanted to tell you again what an amazing workshop you gave. I had a blast and learned a lot. You are the most innovative artist I've ever met or saw. I really don't think that anyone else has come up with so many new ideas. Your work is amazing and so are you. Thank you for sharing your secrets with us.
Thank YOU for the terrific workshop. I think that the group all felt fortunate to be in a workshop with a brilliantly talented artist who actually was willing to SHARE his great ideas
This was the best workshop! You're very candid, honest and giving with everything and I think I can speak for all that we appreciated that! I learned so much and am sold on the "acrylic watercolors." I wish you the best. Your personality, talent and teaching abilities will take you far.
Our workshop week with you was so inspirational. I have never been to a workshop where I came away each day excited for the next day to begin, to experience something different than the day before. I had never touched acrylics until last week and , though I may not have the technique mastered, I know this is something I will experiment with again. Thank you for getting my creative juices flowing. For me, the journey in art is the excitment of creating, not necessarily the finished product. Thank you for sharing your joy for life.
Your workshop was the best! I still haven't come off my cloud......I have had so many painting possibilities running around in my head (of course many are way out there).....you just never know, one just might stick and I will have a "killer" picture some day.
Dear Nick, Your recent workshop at Sandy Maudlin's was without doubt the most inspiring workshop I have ever attended. My mind is reeling with ideas as to how I can incorporate the composition and painting techniques into my own work. It was also SO MUCH FUN. Your energy and the time you spent with each of us was so appreciated. I know I will need reinforcement and hope that I can attend another of your workshops. You were so generous with your offer of help. Among your many talents is also running a killer workshop with an amazing ability to read each of the participants.
I absolutely loved being at your workshop and will definitely attend other ones (of yours, of course!). I hear that the BWS will invite you sooner than later.
Nick - I hope you will return to Sandy's for another workshop next year. I enjoyed the 5 days of learning all about acrylics! Thank you for sharing your expertise with all of us and your individual attention - we all feel invigorated to paint, paint, and paint
What a week. Words cannot describe the satisfied feeling I have, nor could they ever describe how inspiring this week has been for me as well as all the artists who were here. Delicious! Your instruction was exceptional in every way, and your paintings are incredibly beautiful and provoking.
Great! Interesting techniques that I had never learned before!
Nicholas is such a fun person to spend the week with. Loved his work and finally found someone who works the way I would love to work.
Nicholas is so positive, interesting, and works "out of the box." Really talented!
Great instructor. Gave 120% and shared an enormous amount of information. Always something nice to say to each student.
Nicholas is vibrant, open, and a source of inspiration.