Artist Portfolio

Bri Simpson |The dreamer with her head in the clouds

Painter & Illustrator · Atlanta, Georgia 

 Exploring softness, imagination, and the beauty of inner worlds through painting and illustration.

Artist Statement

My work explores softness, imagination, and the freedom to dream. Through ethereal landscapes, expressive figures, clouds, flowers, and surreal environments, I create work that feels familiar yet expansive: a space where possibility is within arm's reach.

As a Black woman and artist, I am particularly interested in creating images that reflect Black women outside of expectation. Here they are playful, introspective, joyous, imaginative, and at rest. I often use clouds and landscapes as spaces of transition: places to dream, wander, rest, reflect, and land.

Through painting and illustration, I am building a body of work that celebrates the interior lives of Black women and the quiet power of dreaming—creating visual moments that invite viewers to pause, take a breath, hold space, and see possibility where they may not have looked for it before.

Selected works

When I get home, 2025

When I get home, 2025

Acrylic on Canvas
24"x24"

A surreal painted figure with tan skin, pulling shirt off that looks like the sky. literally taking the day off and wearing a blue bikini, holding a blue sky with clouds over the head like a garment. The background is a beach-like gradient from blue sky to warm yellow-orange tones.

Take off the day, 2025

Acrylic paint on canvas
24"x36"

The Wanderer, 2026

The Wanderer, 2026

Acrylic on canvas with glitter
24"x24"

Painting of a landscape with green hills, white flowers, and blue sky with clouds.

The World Around Us, 2026

Acrylic Paint
24"x24"

Lost in a memory, 2025

Lost in a memory, 2025

Acrylic paint on Canvas paper
11"x14"

Artistic depiction of a woman with purple cloud afro hair adorned with sunflowers on a yellow background

Crowned, 2021

Acrylic on canvas with vinyl
12"x12"

Artist Bio

Bri Simpson is an Atlanta-based painter and illustrator whose practice explores softness, imagination, and the freedom to dream.

With an interdisciplinary background in journalism and studio art, her work brings together visual storytelling, expressive imagery, and an ongoing exploration of personal possibility.

Simpson began exhibiting her work in and around Atlanta in 2015, during her final semester of undergraduate study at GSU. Since then, she has participated in group exhibitions and art shows throughout the East Coast, steadily developing her independent art practice.

Beyond the canvas, she has expanded her work into small-batch, in-house production of hand-cut and signed art prints, seasonal soy candles inspired by her paintings, and stationery designed to bring art into everyday life. In 2025, she partnered with a longtime friend through a local arts community to co-host weekend pop-ups and curated experiences called "The Cozy Corner" at Avondale Art Center. These gatherings brought together original artwork, complimentary coloring pages, pastry samples, and tea, creating an inviting space for visitors to slow down, connect, and spend time with art.

After a decade of independent artistry and entrepreneurship, Simpson is continuing to expand her professional practice through gallery exhibitions, artist residencies, public-facing creative projects, and new opportunities for artistic collaboration.After a decade of independent artistry and entrepreneurship, Simpson is continuing to expand her professional practice through gallery exhibitions, artist residencies, public-facing creative projects, and new opportunities for artistic collaboration.

Education

B.A. Journalism · Minor in Drawing & Painting

Recent Exhibitions

Summer Rain · Avondale Art Center · 2026

Whimsy Wonderland · Avondale Art Center · 2026

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