Paul Newman

Inspired by the ancient landscape and stories of Wessex, Paul works mainly in graphite. His work stems from research into the nature of places that hold intrigue; geology, ecology and sometimes interaction with human activity. Walking is an important part of a working process, helping understand the distinctive character of a chosen area. The work often responds to memories formed through time spent in those places. Paul explores the links between the places that he finds and the stories that fashioned them. Influences include maps, poetry, folklore, geologists and ecologists. Paul is also interested in how nature manifests itself on human objects, reasserting itself over these interventions but also how human activity creates interventions, disrupting what we think of as ‘wild’. This includes the reclaiming and abstracting of natural forms through weathering, seasonal shifts and decay. Sometimes there is evidence of human activity changing landscapes into ‘place’, creating unique locations which are experienced as affecting; be that uplifting or threatening. He has shown work at various galleries across the South West, including the Bath Annual Open, Messums Wiltshire and the Royal West of England Academy as well as in London with the Society of Graphic Fine Art.