Lunchtime Reflections

I started this painting sometime in 2019, long before COVID was even thought of. I used to love going into the city by myself. I would often sit and watch the world go by. There was something therapeutic about feeling like a little fish in a big pond. A sense of calm amongst the chaos. I gained a lot of inspiration for my art through doing this.

After COVID hit, the city and busy food courts made people feel uneasy for a long time and I struggled to finish this piece.

It was included in a group show called ‘Art Interrupted’ which was a collection of unfinished works at Good Space Gallery in June 2022. Everyone decided it looked best unfinished so I left it as is.

The work then went on to be a finalist in the Hornsby Art Prize later that year in October.

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My work revolves around themes of identity within a certain place and time. It depicts everyday scenes, questioning purpose and direction as well as empty landscapes which allow much needed time to reflect.

Amber Simon is an emerging artist living in Sydney. Born in Tamworth NSW, she moved to Sydney in 2012 to study a Bachelor of Fine Arts at The Sydney College of the Arts, majoring in painting. At the very end of her degree she had a major health scare and instead of going back to complete her studies once she was well, she started a business painting murals for companies in the city.

After a few years she missed painting for herself and the creative freedom that came with it so she started focusing on her own work again. She has exhibited in a number of local group exhibitions, at The Other Art Fair in 2018 and had her first solo show, ‘Reoccurring Locations’ at Gaffa Gallery in 2020 which was affected by the COVID-19lockdowns. Amber was also a finalist in The Shirl Youth Portrait Prize in 2017, won The People’s Choice Award in The Mission to Seafarers MaritimeArt Prize in 2020 and was a finalist in The Hornsby Art Prize in 2022.