Artist Ray Simon, a Youngstown native now living in Canfield, talks about his work, which is on display at the Medici Museum of Art in Howland. (Submitted photo / Andy Gray)

When he was in art school, Ray Simon idolized Norman Rockwell. Now his work is showing in the same museum as Rockwell’s.

About 50 pieces by Simon, a Youngstown native now living in Canfield, are on display at Medici Museum of Art in Howland.

“When I walk into this museum, I bless myself and genuflect,” Simon said. “All of us in art school in Pittsburgh, Norman Rockwell was our hero. That’s when the world just looked at him as an illustrator when he was living. I think he was just brilliant because of the candid moments he painted and the stories he told of everyday life.”

Simon takes a similar realistic approach, but his subjects often are larger-than-life figures — presidents, athletes, entertainers — or everyday people caught up in larger-than-life events, such as world wars.

By far, the largest work is a 100-foot-long wall chronicling American history, mostly through its military conflicts. Simon uses those wars to tell other stories, like the integrated forces that fought alongside each other for the first time during World War II.

“I’ve done paintings that told stories forever,” Simon said. “It’s traveled throughout the country to different schools, the Mall of America.”

The mural currently fills the center of the largest gallery at Medici. It’s surrounded by smaller works on all four walls, or at least smaller by comparison. His painting of Abraham Lincoln is 8 feet tall.

Like many of Simon’s works, the Lincoln painting, “America’s Story,” is filled with tiny details drawn from history. Ask Simon about one of his paintings, and he’s more likely to tell the story of the event it captures and share historical anecdotes instead of focusing on his craft.

He described many of his subjects as “imperfect people,” but his work is a celebration of his subjects and his country.

“I don’t paint negativity,” Simon said. “I paint positive.”

Sports figures were some of his first subjects when he started drawing and painting at age 5. By the time he was in high school, he also was taking art classes at Youngstown State University.

Athletes still play a prominent role in Simon’s art and in the Medici exhibition.

Some of those are original paintings, such as “Like His Father, The Heart of a Champion” depicting Youngstown boxer Ray “Booom Boom” Mancini and his father, Lenny Mancini, and a painting devoted to another Youngstown boxing champion, Kelly Pavlik.

Most are giclee on canvas prints with original touches by the artist. The originals can be found in places like the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton or slated for the Presidential Library of Barack Obama or in the collections of their subjects, like a piece depicting Elton John at different stages of his career.

He has created art for the National Football League, the National Hockey League and the Department of Defense.

“Ray Simon: Portraits of America” will be on display through July 22.

If you go …

WHAT: “Ray Simon: Portraits of America”

WHEN: On display through July 22. Hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

WHERE: Medici Museum of Art, 9350 E. Market St., Howland

HOW MUCH: Admission is free. For more information, go to medicimuseum.art or call 330-856-2120.