Paul Woods
Visual artist - Painter
“My lessons with Paul have transformed my ability to look at art. I now know how to approach the painting, look at its structure, and the artist’s technique and really see what makes a painting great and worthy of its place in the major galleries. Visiting a gallery is a much more enriching experience and still, if I look again at a painting, I think I am familiar with, I always see something new, so I would definitely recommend Paul’s classes if you want art taught with skill and passion. ” – Jenny Boyd
I am a professional artist, and painter, with a wealth of knowledge and years of experience. I am very accomplished as an art tutor teaching painting. My deep passion is for art appreciation and understanding as it is fundamental for artists and enthusiastic art lovers.
I have enjoyed the pleasures of exhibiting and selling my work in many European countries and the USA. I had a portrait accepted for exhibition as a part of the prestigious B.P. Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London, UK.
"A good friend for many years, Paul Woods is one of the most committed artists I know. Knowledgeable, gifted, and always brimming with ideas, and planned projects, Paul has consistently pursued a path all his own, always with energy and enthusiasm." - Stephen Prince
Born in 1958 I studied at world-renowned Saint Martin’s School of Art in London, UK.
Although born in the UK, I also lived in France for 14 years and now reside in the beautiful country of Portugal.
My greatest success in life was being married to my beautiful wife, Asha who sadly passed after living in Portugal for a couple of years.
Artist statement
I paint in a basic simplistic way often using a stick to draw with, creating a feeling of primitive, primal mark making. I love fluid dripping paintwork which I find expressive and powerful. This earthy, childlike, approach seemingly contradicts my need for draftsmanship but expressive paintwork gets me closer to a sense of reality than I think a photographic reality ever can.
The clothed and nude figure is a conduit and metaphor for exploring complex issues. I do not call my work erotic, my rough primitive way of working stops the nude from being looked at as superficially erotic and hopefully encourages the viewer to find a different understanding or interpretation with deeper meanings and intent.
I work from life with male and female sitters drawing from multiple viewpoints moving all around the figure creating a coherent single complete image. This process is further complicated by creating distortions, transparency and size exaggerations to charge strange, fascinating and complex images. It is a form of Cubism which is an exciting invention with many avenues open to exploration.
Paul Woods