paulnewmanartist@gmail.com
paulnewmanartist.com
www.instagram.com/paulnewmanartist
Now returning to Dorset, Paul graduated from Falmouth College of Arts in 1995 after A-Levels and Foundation in Poole and Bournemouth, Dorset. As a graphic fine artist intrigued by nature, he works exclusively in graphite and is interested in detail, texture and tone, inspired by elements of the ancient landscape and stories of Wessex.
His work is created by research into the nature and history of places that interest him; geology, ecology and sometimes interaction with human activity. Walking is an important part of the working process, understanding the character and distinctive atmosphere of a certain area, as Paul Nash referred to the ‘genius loci.’ Much of his work comes from places that have been explored and returned to repeatedly, with an ingrained personal significance, with the work mostly a response to being affected by memories or experience over time in those places. He is keen to make links between the places that he finds and the stories that fashioned them. His influences are maps and writers, geologists and legends, songs and poems. Drawings and photographs taken in the field are then worked up into finished pieces in the studio.
Paul is also interested in how nature manifests itself on human objects, reclaiming and abstracting these forms, such as overgrown remains, weathering, seasonal change and decay. He looks for evidence of human activity changing landscapes into places, creating unique locations which can affect, uplift or threaten.
Trees form an important part of his interest, fusing and transforming the elements of different places. In particular, Paul is drawn to their shapes and individual textures, their place in regional folklore as well as their gift to allow us to collectively connect and think about our relationship with nature.
He has shown work at various galleries across the South West, including the Bath Society of Artists, Messums Wiltshire, Mariners Gallery in St Ives and the Royal West of England Academy as well as in London with the Society of Graphic Fine Art.
Paul works as the creative director for Dorset Visual Arts and coordinates Art Weeks events as well as other work as a curator, collaborator and writer in south west England. He has worked previously as a trustee and curator for Black Swan Arts in Frome, Somerset. Paul is a member of the Society of Graphic Fine Art