Paul Horton
Much admired and collected contemporary pastel artist, Paul Horton was born and raised in the heart of the industrial Black Country in 1958, yet despite painting since his teens and exhibiting at local level not long after, didn’t show the courage of his conviction to turn professional until as recently as 1998. Yet today Horton’s hugely popular and infinitely engaging works are very much in demand and sough after on the open art market, both here in the UK and overseas.
Harking back to his formative years, Horton recalls being infatuated with drawing and painting pretty much from the year dot – or at least as soon as he could hold a pencil and paintbrush in his hand that is – and his childhood is looked back upon as a happy time that saw prompted him to make a promise that he would, one day realise his young ambitions and become a name in the field of contemporary art when the time was right.
Horton’s art teacher, as is so often the case, encouraged him to develop his fledgling talents in this arena, and he recalls wiling away many hours in the school art room. Horton progressed to study painting and drawing at Bournville School of Art in Birmingham in the mid-1970s, where he showed a keen interest and aptitude for life drawing and history of art, however he left without qualification and chose to enter the printing trade thereafter. His love for art didn’t wane, and nor did he allow it to, as Horton spent his spare time creating pieces and channelling many styles. The artist also held a number of exhibitions over the years, locally and in 1976 was recognized by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists who awarded his a Certificate of Merit in light of his works.
It wouldn’t be for another 22 years however, before Horton gave up the day job in the printing industry and turned to art as his sole profession and breadwinner. In 1998, barely twelve months on from announcing his intentions to turn professional, Horton held a major one-man show, entitled; ‘All in a Life’s Work’ (in which Horton endeavoured to showcase all his best work, completed in private over the past couple of decades), which received rave reviews and acclaim from a lot of people, and succeeded in raising his profile to previously unchartered heights. This innovative exhibition was also memorable for all the right reasons on account of it also featuring rock star, Steve Harley performing at the venue; a musician who Horton cites as being instrumental in inspiring him to paint, and providing the soundtrack to his own creativity to date.
On the back of the exhibition’s unprecedented successes, Horton travelled extensively throughout the UK during 2002, spearheading his ‘Homes and Hearts’ tour, which provided him with the platform to further his art’s exposure in many galleries across the country. Horton’s ever-developing style of work in both fine art and illustration goes from strength to strength, and the artist now fulfils another important role alongside this, whereby he teaches drawing and painting to special needs students within the community, something he considers to be extremely rewarding and what he regards as giving something back to art.
Harking back to his formative years, Horton recalls being infatuated with drawing and painting pretty much from the year dot – or at least as soon as he could hold a pencil and paintbrush in his hand that is – and his childhood is looked back upon as a happy time that saw prompted him to make a promise that he would, one day realise his young ambitions and become a name in the field of contemporary art when the time was right.
Horton’s art teacher, as is so often the case, encouraged him to develop his fledgling talents in this arena, and he recalls wiling away many hours in the school art room. Horton progressed to study painting and drawing at Bournville School of Art in Birmingham in the mid-1970s, where he showed a keen interest and aptitude for life drawing and history of art, however he left without qualification and chose to enter the printing trade thereafter. His love for art didn’t wane, and nor did he allow it to, as Horton spent his spare time creating pieces and channelling many styles. The artist also held a number of exhibitions over the years, locally and in 1976 was recognized by the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists who awarded his a Certificate of Merit in light of his works.
It wouldn’t be for another 22 years however, before Horton gave up the day job in the printing industry and turned to art as his sole profession and breadwinner. In 1998, barely twelve months on from announcing his intentions to turn professional, Horton held a major one-man show, entitled; ‘All in a Life’s Work’ (in which Horton endeavoured to showcase all his best work, completed in private over the past couple of decades), which received rave reviews and acclaim from a lot of people, and succeeded in raising his profile to previously unchartered heights. This innovative exhibition was also memorable for all the right reasons on account of it also featuring rock star, Steve Harley performing at the venue; a musician who Horton cites as being instrumental in inspiring him to paint, and providing the soundtrack to his own creativity to date.
On the back of the exhibition’s unprecedented successes, Horton travelled extensively throughout the UK during 2002, spearheading his ‘Homes and Hearts’ tour, which provided him with the platform to further his art’s exposure in many galleries across the country. Horton’s ever-developing style of work in both fine art and illustration goes from strength to strength, and the artist now fulfils another important role alongside this, whereby he teaches drawing and painting to special needs students within the community, something he considers to be extremely rewarding and what he regards as giving something back to art.