Brendan Kelly Brendan Kelly Brendan Kelly
Brendan Kelly Brendan Kelly Brendan Kelly
About Simon Davis

Born in Stratford upon Avon, Simon studied for a diploma in technical illustration before going onto concentrate on illustration and graphic design at Swindon College of Art.  Working life began as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator of books and magazines but he soon moved into comics work in the early 1990s.

Simon now divides his time between portrait painting and comic book illustration for the cult British comic 2000 AD. His fully-painted work for the title has been collected into numerous books worldwide and he believes that the discipline of his comic-strip work complements his oil painting, allowing him to produce ‘dynamic’ images in an ‘economical way’.

He paints using oils and mainly square brushes, working from the photographs that he takes of his sitters.  In 2008, he was runner up in the BP Portrait award and that same year was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Portrait painters (RP). He was their Vice-President from 2014 to 2021.

For 2000 AD, Simon has been a major contributor to the Missionary Man strip with writer Gordon Rennie, and to Sinister Dexter with Dan Abnett. He painted the Sinister and Dexter duo's first full-length story, "Gunshark Vacation", described by then-editor David Bishop as "a big fat hit".  He has also been the sole illustrator on a number of recent stories including Black Siddha and Stone Island.

Simon’s choice of work is always eclectic and this includes storyboarding music videos for the likes of Tori Amos and Muse, designing a tattoo for Alex Garland’s film ‘Annihilation’ and painting the poster for Ben Wheatley’s film, ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead’. 

His work is in collections all over the world and is exhibited widely.

Brendan Kelly

£1,100


"In 2004, in the early days of my painting, I went to see a group exhibition held in London called Being Present. This show had a huge impact on me as it brought together many of the best young portrait painters working at that time and Brendan was one of them.

I got to know Brendan through the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, chatting in the pub, and often visiting his studio. There I saw first-hand how he approaches painting and his meticulous planning of composition, colour theory and incredible application."

About Simon Davis

Born in Stratford upon Avon, Simon studied for a diploma in technical illustration before going onto concentrate on illustration and graphic design at Swindon College of Art.  Working life began as a graphic designer and freelance illustrator of books and magazines but he soon moved into comics work in the early 1990s.

Simon now divides his time between portrait painting and comic book illustration for the cult British comic 2000 AD. His fully-painted work for the title has been collected into numerous books worldwide and he believes that the discipline of his comic-strip work complements his oil painting, allowing him to produce ‘dynamic’ images in an ‘economical way’.

He paints using oils and mainly square brushes, working from the photographs that he takes of his sitters.  In 2008, he was runner up in the BP Portrait award and that same year was elected as a member of the Royal Society of Portrait painters (RP). He was their Vice-President from 2014 to 2021.

For 2000 AD, Simon has been a major contributor to the Missionary Man strip with writer Gordon Rennie, and to Sinister Dexter with Dan Abnett. He painted the Sinister and Dexter duo's first full-length story, "Gunshark Vacation", described by then-editor David Bishop as "a big fat hit".  He has also been the sole illustrator on a number of recent stories including Black Siddha and Stone Island.

Simon’s choice of work is always eclectic and this includes storyboarding music videos for the likes of Tori Amos and Muse, designing a tattoo for Alex Garland’s film ‘Annihilation’ and painting the poster for Ben Wheatley’s film, ‘Happy New Year, Colin Burstead’. 

His work is in collections all over the world and is exhibited widely.