Born in Carlisle, England, Paul arrived South Australia in 1961, but his first memories are of the North Island of New Zealand, where he spent much of his four years there roaming the green hills and bush developing his intense love of nature.
Subsequent moves to Tasmania, Western Australia and constant travelling throughout most of Australia, gave him the perfect education on Aussie flora and fauna. Even at an early age, his favourite time was out in the bush on his own. During this time he discovered his artistic talents, largely influenced by the Marvel comic book artists of the 1960's, which, along with his older brother, he meticulously copied.
A back injury at age 23 gave him the opportunity to focus on his artwork for a short time, but family and work soon took over again. 10 years as a graphic artist for the local newspaper in Mount Gambier, South Australia, allowed him to produce the occasional caricature and develop a cartoon that related to and fit in with the weather section. This taught him to draw rapidly and in a variety of styles. He created 4 cartoons a week in his own time for no pay for a year until the (unappreciated) heavy workload became too much.
Again his artwork lay dormant until, after 4 years as a gyprocker, his ongoing back problems and the diagnoses of fibromyalgia allowed him to pick up the pencil once again. Despite still working part-time, Paul is discovering anew the pleasures of finding new ways to be artistically creative. Working with charcoal, pastels, colour pencils, water colours, acrylics, and oils has increased his desire to experiment. Even shoe polish and chook wire have become a part of his regular output.
In 2007 Paul entered his first competition, winning first prize at his local art gallery with a portrait of a friend. This encouraged him to try further afield and in 2008 he won first place in the prestigious Waterhouse Natural History Art Prize in the sculpture section.
Although enjoying a diversity of subjects, Paul revels in native animals, portraits and pet art.