Liz McGrath, Artist Emma Simcock-Tooth's work is truly stunning; her rich dark color palette and eerie backgrounds lend themselves perfectly to the sad atmospheric portraitures which inherit her creative kingdom. There's no denying her artistry as each of her paintings leer, smile or cry for you in such a life like manner. her work is definately head and shoulders above the rest!

Liam Sharp, Artist and Publisher Emma Simcock-Tooth represents many things lacking in the professional art world today. She has a natural visual talent, classical skill and killer technique, plus she's far too young to be this accomplished! I expect to see covers by her everywhere in the next few years.

Al Davison, Author/Artist Emma Simcock-Tooth is an amazing artist, not only does she produce finely detailed, beautifully crafted paintings, but Emma herself is a stunning, living work of art.

[Emma is one of a number of artists who use] photographs as their impetus in the production of a work of art. These artists could loosely be termed 'Photo Realists' as the finished painting closely resembles their original photographic source. The title of the exhibition [I'll Be Your Mirror] links directly with the artists obsession with the human image, and how their interpretation of this is apparent in their individual rendering of paint. The distancing, when painting from a photograph, allows the artists objectivity when confronting their subject matter, and their work subsequently retains its humanity through the tenderness of their brushwork.

Sally Pepper, Radio Derby I am quite gobsmacked by that [ Page2] You have to go along and see Emma's work, that's the only thing I can say. You will be blown away... The technique behind it is quite incredible... Honestly, take it from me - phenomenal work.

Ally Rodgers, Artist and organiser of Derbyshire Open Arts [speaking on Radio Derby] It's absolutely amazing. In the brochure she descrobes it as 'hyperrealist' and that's exactly what it is. I really take my hat off to people who can paint like this. I wish I could paint like Emma.

sffworld.com The artwork with A Trace of Fragile Bliss is perfect

Chronicles Magazine Emma Simcock-Tooth is a portraitist and costume artist. She is the muse, model and artist of her hyperrealistic art in one. Some critics say she is too young to be as accomplished as she is. Then again, eternal youth has always been an essential part of darker art.

Read full interview 'Life as a Work of Art' in Chronicles Magazine spring 2007> part 1 - part 2

Artshole.co.uk The Michael Naimski Gallery is to open a major exhibition of paintings by Emma Simcock on Thursday 6th May 2004. Be it wincing beneath the tattooists needle or floating Ophelia-esque whilst bedecked in corsets, jewellery and hooped panniers, Emma is often both subject and artist. Body decoration, portraiture and vanity are common themes that Emma explores in a documentary and photo realistic fashion, sometimes on a monumental scale: ‘Back in 5 Minutes’ is a 30’ long painting chronicling the experience of her second tattoo.

There is a tender sensitivity to Emma’s painted snapshots of real life, particularly when it’s her real life, and she is determined to scratch beneath the surface of experience. Having recently secured Arts Council funding for her Ophelia series, Emma forced herself to overcome her fear of water and let herself be consumed by the water as her clothes became ‘heavy with drink.’ For someone who experiences mild hyperventilation when paddling in the sea, this was no mean feat and has resulted in some particularly strong work that has received great acclaim.

In pursuit of her themes of costume and vanity, Emma plans to visit Japan this autumn and experience everything from the Geisha to Gosurori (Japanese Goths.) Not surprisingly, she intends to personally undergo a total Geisha makeover.

Thomas Craig MA DipCAH PNLP Lecturer and Hypnotherapist (on Clinic II:) The more I look, the more the canvas ceases to exist and I'm left with a sense that the viewer has stumbled across a window to another world that has inadvertently been left open by the artist. A world in which darkness and beauty are inseparable and where tales of the fantastic writhe just beneath the surface. It brings to mind those moment where, upon waking, the textures of reality seems less tangible than the dream just departed.

Derby Evening Telegraph (on Big Frank's Triptych:) A force to be reckoned with

John Forkin in Business Matters Magazine (on Owen:) I selected the painting becuse of it's brash scale and confidence - portraits are not easy and this one really dominates its environment and is technically brilliant.

Peter Worthington, art promoter Emma's portraits are classically painted in oils, in such fine detail they are almost photographic, yet carry a warmth and richness only a gifted artist could breathe into canvas.

The classic style of Emma's beautiful paintings at first belie their character and depth, the subject matter brings to our attention segments of 21st century society which we have not seen depicted with such quality, thought and love. Portraits of contemporary Goths, tattooed characters, actors and her own husband now have a brilliance only before given to pre-rennaissance subjects. These fine paintings are guaranteed to be taken by collectors of the best new artists in this country.

Artist Statement spring 2006:

I consider myself a portraitist first and foremost. It is the creation of likeness which fascinates me; a glint of gold in the shadows, the flicker of an eyelid, the shimmering pulsation of nerves under skin. Likeness is always at the centre of my work; the almost mathematical relationships of feature to feature are just the beginning, but accuracy is essential.

Using the historically loaded medium of oil on canvas, but sometimes working on other surfaces such as sackcloth or decayed wood, I set out to create jewel-like treasures, like altar pieces or the small icons intended for personal devotion. Alongside my painting I also make the historically-influenced costumes which appear in some of my paintings. This is a response, I suppose, to my restless discomfort with a soulless, mundane 21st century devoid of decoration or beauty or the magical promises made by a century of fantastical predictions. I look back to the costume and manner of the 1880s, to Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite art, to Art Nouveau and Japanese imagery. Costume, masquerade and artifice are essential elements of my work, continuing my long-time explorations of self-image and self-presentation. There is a sense of escapism; most of my paintings are of a single figure, of a solitary moment, withdrawn from the rest of the world.

My paintings begin life inside my head, I see them there first; all my preliminary sketches and developments happen there. Then I begin to stage photographs for reference, controlling lighting, costume and pose, bringing the images in my head into the real world. Photographs are essential to my practice, particularly for my self-portraits - working from a mirror would not provide me with the unmoving accuracy I require.

I relish the glowing transparency and texture of oil paint and more and more I seek to create, as well as the overall image, a kind of macro-feast of surface texture which can only really be appreciated close up.

After an affair with the fresh bright colours of my photorealist paintings I am returning to a darker style. This is especially evident in My recent work for the award-winning Event Horizon books. My work here has developed an allegorical dimension as I have produced images with little stories attached. This has led to a development of personal mythology and symbolism in my work.

Humans relate to images of of other humans, particularly faces, on a visceral, subconscious level; this is why portraiture is especially powerful and relevant. After layers of meaning and concept are stripped away, that relationship remains. My images can be very intimate and very personal, drawing on my own lived experiences of Love, sadness and joy.