Paul Bell was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland and having had spells in France and Holland his family now live in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
I spent my formative years studying at Mackintosh’s Glasgow School of Art as part of a foundation course set up by my employer at the time, The Fletcher McNeece Partnership. I turned down a full time place at the GSA to continue working and in the mid 80s’ I was awarded Diploma membership to the Society of Industrial Artists and Designers.
I practised Interior Design for the best part of 20 years before deciding to specialise in Architectural and Interior illustration until 2 years ago when I made the decision to concentrate fully on my first love which is Art.
The technical nature of Design and illustration provided a juxtaposition for my now more expressive looser painting style. I paint what I see, the way I want to paint it. I like to work in a variety of media but predominantly Oil and Acrylic and take inspiration from what I see around me; people, landscapes, cityscapes and still life.
My most notable achievements to date were making the last round of 250 in last years prestigeous BP Portrait Award and winning the BBC1 series “The Big Painting Challenge” 2015. I also had two pieces of work from the series hanging in Tate Britain.
Paul has recently exhibited at Lauderdale House, in London with fellow contestants fron The Big Painting Challenge, as well as Beaconsfield Art Fair. His up-coming exhibition for The Bucks Open Studios opens on Saturday 6th June 2o15.
For more information, go to Paul Bell’s website, follow him on twitter @paulbellart, like him on facebook
