Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/934374
One painting depicted the President juxta- posed with Ali at the (1964) Sonny Liston fight that made him a household name, and another with an older Ali. The former was unveiled at the Bluegrass Ball in Washington, DC, by Ashley Judd. "Ali was a very powerful and I would say a very good guy," Bull recalls. "Despite his illness, he retained a kind of nobility about himself and a care for other people and a keen interest in what they were doing. He was someone that obviously loved life and loved people." No matter how successful he has become as a painter, Simon Bull sees himself primarily as a storyteller. "Every painting should tell the story of the whole of human life," he reflects. "The story is simple, and I think that's why my ar t has been readily received by people," he reflects. "I think people are looking for life- affirming messages. Ar t is ar tificial. It's not life, it's about life, it's a mirror of life. It holds the world up to you in a way that you've not seen it before and changes your perspective and feeds back into your own life." View Simon Bull's work in Carmel at Meuse, his gallery at Ocean and Monte Verde and in Monterey at Meuse Contemporary, 201 Cannery Row, Suite1. For more information, visit www.bullart.com. 168 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • W I N T E R 2 0 1 8 Photo: Kelli Uldall "The Champ" Bull views his colorful, approach- able work as much more than col- orful pictures and portraits. "The purpose of art is to create a door- way to enable people to walk into their own Narnia," he says.