From the Cornwall Contemporary catalogue (2011): 'Dorset born Simon Stooks trained at Shelley Park School in Bournemouth (1989-1991) and graduated from Falmouth School of Art in 1994 with a BA Honours in Fine Art.'

He moved to the South of France in 2009 but was a frequent visitor to Cornwall, where most of his painting inspiration lay. The majority of his landscapes were painted on visits to St Ives and around the coast of West Cornwall. His work is held in many private collections both at home and abroad, as well as in public collections.