Simeon Stafford was born in Duckingfield, Pennines. Stafford won the Robert Owen School award for art and the Manchester News Portrait Award; the consequence was an introduction to L.S.Lowry, when Stafford was 14 years old, who became a family friend and encouraged the young Stafford to study art.

His early work depicted gritty northern landscapes and character studies. In 1996 he moved to Cornwall where the strong colours and light had a big impact on his work. There are many characters in his paintings to look out for; subjects include docks and workers, seaside towns and streets crammed with children playing....