“As I floated, I saw my deceased mother’s face and she told me to ‘Go back, honey, you have to go back. You have to paint.’”
“The dogs were loaded up first and then the horses, Gypsy and Sunny, into their trailer, which I hooked up and had ready to go.” Simmons recalled.
This was the second evacuation in eight weeks for Simmons and her pets after the earlier April 17 Tunnel Fire when three of her neighbors’ homes burned to the ground.
“So, we were prepared to get out quickly this time,” she said. “I’m still a little shaken up by the whole experience.”
The horses went to safety in a big, round pen at a friend’s property and the dogs stayed with Simmons for four days at La Quinta, a pet-friendly hotel downtown with evacuation specials, before getting the go-ahead for a safe return home.
“Every room had someone with a pet,” Simmons said of the hotel stay. “Most of the people there said that the only thing that they brought with them were their dogs.”
Such devotion to pets is not unusual among pet owners who value and include their animals as members of the family.
For about 10 years, Simmons has been helping people honor their pets by painting pet portraits of them.
“I work in acrylic paint as it is water-based and very pliable, and I don’t like the smell of turpentine,” she said. “I usually work from photographs that are provided by the pet’s owner. I don’t use props, just the pet. I only paint the soul of the animal with a kind of minimalist style.”
Prior to becoming an artist, Simmons began her career as a landscape designer after studying architectural drafting and working as a site researcher and designer for a land acquisition company. After learning some illustration techniques at a graphic design school, she eventually started her own landscape design company, which she has run for 30 years.
“My art background is a combination of innate ability, watching my mom who was a professional fine artist, and some formal training at various art schools,” she said.
Her passion for pet portraits began after a traumatic health scare in 2011 when she suffered a brain aneurysm while living alone in a remote area outside of town.
“It took several days before I received medical attention and was lucky to survive until I was flown to Mayo Clinic for surgery. During the time that I was under deep sedation, I experienced leaving my body and heading toward the light. As I floated, I saw my deceased mother’s face and she told me to ‘Go back, honey, you have to go back. You have to paint.’”
Several months after surgery, Simmons did a painting.
“It depicted me riding a horse on the beach,” she said. “My arms were outstretched to the sky. Several years later, as my siblings and I were going through my mother’s art studio, I came across a sketch that was the exact image of the painting I had done of myself on the horse. I realized that I had a new gift of painting and began doing pet portraits.”
One of her first pet portraits was a memorial portrait of her dog, Kodi.
“Kodi saw me have the aneurysm and stayed right by my side until I got help,” she said. “He passed away six months later at only 4½ years old.”
She also paints wall murals, such as the fantasy scene she did for a young girl. Pet portraits include images of horses like her horse, Gypsy Rose, a black-and-white pinto that she bought a year after her surgery.
“She is my heart and my therapy.”
Simmons’ creations range from one-foot-square to impressive 4-foot by 5-foot canvases.
“There is no usual time that it takes to paint a painting. I am inspired at different times for each painting. I usually give myself about three weeks to finish a painting.”
She also participates in several art shows a year.
“I get to display my art and have the opportunity to meet people who would like to have a portrait done of their pet. Sometimes it is a memorial painting for a loved one.” FBN
By Betsey Bruner, FBN
