Adams, Simons Collaborate on Powerful Film Featuring Poetic Paintings of Christ
By Julie Perine on April 20, 2014 via Connect-Bridgeport.com
Many have witnessed the live creation of Jeremy Simons’ inspirational murals. For nearly a decade, he has traveled the area - drawing crowds - as he poetically paints giant, detailed portraits of Christ with his bare hands; his wife Lydia and her band "The Amorous" providing inspirational piano accompaniment. In addition to appearances at local churches, Simons and the musicians have toured with contemporary Christian artists Big Daddy Weave and DecembeRadio.
Many have also seen the work of Jason Adams. The 1999 graduate of Bridgeport High School is an award-winning director/cinematographer and owner of Adams Film, formerly known as Dream On Creative. Working with advertising agencies, he aspires to bring great ideas to the screen, inspired, he said, by a love for connecting audiences to a story.
For the first time, the two professionals – who met at BHS, by the way – have collaborated on a project featuring both of their creative talents. Adams recently completed a short film featuring Simons in action.
“I’ve known Jeremy for quite few years and we have always kind of talked about me making a video – collaborating with him doing his painting,” Adams said. “I really just finally came together here in the past couple of weeks.”
Simply titled "Art" and done in narrative fashion, this piece is different from the hundreds of others Adams has completed.
“I guess what’s unique about this one is that it’s rare that I get to use my art to capture someone else’s,” he said. “I usually use my art to tell a story of a product or to advertise it. It was a nice change to get to find a story in someone else’s artistic abilities.”
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The video is available for viewing at Adams’ professional Web site.
“We created it really as a way for Jeremy to promote his painting. He’s starting to take on more live painting gigs and I thought there was a beautiful narrative in the way he paints. It was fun to make that into a story,” he said.
Through the eyes of those who see him in action, Simons definitely displays a unique talent in the making of his massive murals. With giant sweeps and impromptu splashes of paint, the colors and strokes come together, creating a most powerful image. According to him, it’s just worship in motion. He said he honors his creator and savior through his artistic expression – much like a singer or musician would.
Simons hopes the video will bring light to the arts and worship.
"I hope it shows people that in worship, we can use all our gifts and talents God has given us,” he said. “Whether someone is making Easter dinner for their family and putting their heart into it or leading worship at church, as long as we take the things we love and do it for God, it can be an act of worship. Everything we do in our lives can really be used for that purpose.”
Simons estimates that he has created about 1,000 paintings. He continues to be amazed about where they pop up.
“A friend of mine traveled to Sydney, Australia and saw one in a coffee shop there and another guy sent me a picture of one he saw hanging in a church in Holland," he said.
The paintings are available for purchase. Inquiries can be made at his Facebook page.
Simons is a 2000 graduate of Robert C. Byrd High School, but he attended BHS for a couple of years.
“That’s where I initially met him,” Adams said. “He and I actually played together in the high school drumline.”
Adams still plays the drums, including past gigs for Lifepointe Church in Clarksburg and more recently at Horizons Church in Lost Creek, the church Simons attends when he's not on the road.
That's where the two met up after losing touch for several years.
“I just started talking to Jason, finding out what he was doing and saw some of his work, including a video shoot he was doing. I was very impressed," Simons said. “With everything I do, I try to put my best foot forward and connect with people which I feel are very gifted and who take the time to perfect their craft, so to speak,” Simons said. "We always had a good friendship and connection. I thought working together on a video was a good fit.”
See the video at http://vimeo.com/adamsfilm/art
It’s more than a film, Adams said. It’s a standalone artwork that tells the story of the process of art and the emotion which the process invokes.
From top: Adams and Simons. Just above: Simons, Adams, Mike Chlebik and Danny Orsburn perform with the BHS drumline in 1997.
Read a June 2012 story about Simons HERE.
Read a July 2013 story about Adams and access links to some of his videos - including those filmed for Connect-Bridgeport - HERE.
