Portrait artist gets posthumous exhibition - in the pub

A much-loved painter who taught in Coventry for more than 30 years is being remembered in an exhibition celebrating his life, that also offers a chance to reunite some of his subjects with their portraits.

Simon Gee, originally from Walsall, died in March and "didn't want a service, as such", said friend Mark James, "but he was always up for a party".

The show - which will raise money for the Myton Hospices charity - will run for a month at pub Twisted Barrel Brewery in Coventry.

Many of his paintings were of people he did not know, "or had collared in a pub somewhere", James said. "He would never exhibit in an art gallery, always a pub."

Friends in the weeks since the artist's passing have commented on his love of people.

Geraldine O'Malley said: "He often approached workmen in the street asking if he could take their photos and they were always absolutely stunned when Simon actually did paint them."

A theme in the work is bearded subjects wearing hi-vis jackets.

"You knew if you were spending time with Simon you would have fun," she said.

"You didn't know what would happen, but there would be fun involved.

"So if you were lucky enough to go to an art gallery with Simon, you had your own personal guide."

"He was such a kind man, and he was so well-loved."

Artist and sculptor George Wagstaffe described Gee as "a gentleman".

"It seems to be artists are often very solitary, very isolated, myself included, but he was very gregarious and friendly with so many people - I think that came into his work," he said.

Wagstaffe added: "I was trying to place him in some sort of context in art history, and the nearest I could come to really was [Dutch artist] Frans Hals, because again, he had this love of people."

"The one thing that comes over to me, is how very well liked he was."

Mary Courtney remembers Gee as sporting a "flamboyant moustache, dungarees and signature mustard yellow".

He was "an artwork himself", she said. "Sunshine and style in a Walsall accent.

"I keep bumping into artists who tell me they were taught by him and how much he helped them believe in themselves and their art.

"What an impact he had on their lives. That is a real legacy, bound up in people making art in this city and beyond."

Simon Gee's retrospective is at Twisted Barrel Brewery, Fargo Village, Coventry. It runs until June.

His work was previously shown at Hops d'Amour micro pub, the former Drapers Bar and the LTB Showrooms when it was at the Litten Tree pub site, James said.

Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.