You might have seen Paul's lil mobile studio parked at Denvils recently. Made by his son Gordon, it's an art studio on the move. Hooked up to his 4x4 this things can go anywhere and has. Car Park John had given me the heads up about Paul, who sounded like one super interesting & talented ou, so I stopped off for a visit. And boy, I wasn't disappointed, his art is insaaaaane.
Paul was having a surf at Denvils when I arrived, so mate Chris Taljaard had to holler him in so I could have a chat. Luckily the wind was beginning to klap it already so he paddled in.
So Paul, how's this whole gig work?
I just park my mobile studio wherever I want, and then do some painting...and take a break every now and again to hit the surf. I'm lucky to have orders for my work right up til 2013. A gallery in Joburg takes all my stuff. They send a courier to find me wherever I'm parked!
What sort of stuff are you painting?
I do mainly landscapes - the Karoo and inland. That's what most of the market is for these days. I also do animals and seascapes. I paint mainly in oils and acrylics, as well as sketch a bit too. Painting range from big 2m x 1m canvases to smaller 30cm one's. A smaller one takes a few hours, whereas the big one's take a day at least.
Where the master pieces happen
Gotto love the storage system!
Where do you get your inspiration from? Do you paint from photographs?
No, I paint straight from my head (Ed - when you see the level of detail in his painting this fact will blow your mind). I've traveled extensively around South Africa, so have plenty of mental pictures in my mind of places I've visited and things I've seen. Back in the day I backpacked round the country with just my easel, tent and dog for two years, so have a lot of memories from that.
I've always been into painting - I had my first exhibition at 15. My dad was an artist.
So what was the idea behind the mobile art studio?
As I sell all my work to galleries, I miss out on the interaction with the people who buy my pieces. The mobile art studio puts me back in touch with the public, and let's me sell some work directly to them as well - which is satisfying to see happy customers. Gordon, Chris and I plan to take the studio on a road trip from PE to Elands Bay. Just stopping off at all the surf spots along the way, and painting. Hopefully I'll sell enough paintings en route to cover our trip! (Ed - we hope to follow the guys on their roadtrip via a blog on Millerslocal - will keep you posted)
Oh, and with Springbok colours in kickboxing, and a black belt in karate - we reckon Paul is more than capable of ensuring no-one tries to steal his paintings en route!
Do yourself a favour guys, pop down to check out Paul's art whilst he's parked off at Denvils. Really nice ou to chat too. And who knows, maybe you find something cool to buy for your lounge wall!