Steve Simon was raised outside Chicago by Luxembourg immigrant parents. As a youth, Simon enjoyed drawing but eventually pursued more technical interests. After receiving a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Simon worked as a robotics engineer in Germany. He later returned to Chicago to work as a management consultant.

While in Chicago, Simon participated in oil painting workshops in the evenings but still did not consider an art career. Still searching for his calling, Simon chose to pursue an MBA in international business during which he studied in Paris, New York, Tokyo, and nine other cities throughout eastern Europe and Asia. At this point, his travels had brought him to over thirty countries as the cultural exposure continued to fuel the latent artist.

After receiving his MBA, Simon accepted a consulting assignment in Paris. Here he could explore the art world which so intrigued him. In his free time, he visited art museums and painted in his studio apartment in the famous artist’s quarter of Montmartre. Upon completing the Paris assignment, it became clear to him that the inner artist must be acknowledged.

It was then Simon made the decision to pursue his real dream. In 1994, at age twenty-nine, he moved to Newport Beach, California to start his art career. Over the next two years, he produced a 50-piece collection of Newport Beach paintings and published the collection in his first art book entitled "Newport Beach, California: Celebrating 90 Years." Continuing to paint local inspirations, he spent the next two years painting fifty scenes of Orange County. To accompany each piece the artist wrote verse and published the collection in his second book entitled "Orange County: Through An Artist’s Eye."

As early as 1997, with California’s 150th anniversary of statehood approaching in the year 2000, the artist began planning an ambitious 60-piece collection of California oil paintings. The artist would travel over 15,000 miles throughout the state gaining inspirations. He then communicated these inspirations through his oil paintings and verse. The full collection of California oil paintings, with respective verse, is compiled in the artist’s third book entitled "California: Through An Artist’s Eye."

In 2001 the artist traveled to Oahu and began producing a collection of tropical scenes. In the same year he produced another collection of Newport Beach paintings published in his fourth book "The Spirit of Newport Beach."

The following year Simon dedicated his efforts in portraying Laguna Beach, again publishing the collection in another book entitled "The Spirit of Laguna Beach."

The last two years the artist has primarily been focusing on painting scenes of Huntington Beach, Cabo San Lucas, and Maui as well as working on a new series of paintings of tropical drinks.

In 2007, Simon moved to the beautiful Red Rock Country of Arizona where he has begun painting new inspirations of the areas dramatic landscapes. He resides in Sedona, Arizona with his wife, stepson, and daughter. You may reach the artist by clicking on steve@stevesimon.com.