My lifetime interest has been in the visual arts and, as I was working in London, I was able to indulge this passion by going to all the big exhibitions and exploring the galleries of Cork Street and elsewhere to see what the front line painters were producing. As a child I was brought to Cornwall for holidays and discovered in the 50's and 60's that St Ives was the 'Mecca' for Modern Art. Back home I used the 'evening institutes' to learn as much as possible about the making of art and I especially enjoyed 'life' drawing. I later became a member of the Hesketh Hubbard Drawing Society at the Federation of British Artists' Mall Galleries. I attended the Sutton College of Liberal Arts and was accepted for a fine arts portfolio course at the London Institute. This brilliant course was run by Peter 'Stan' Stanyer of the Chelsea School of Art. I also attended many excellent courses at the St Ives School of Painting under the guidance of Roy Ray and his staff of professional artists. I retired early from my occupation in the City with the intention of having a second career as a painter. When I moved to St Ives I was invited to join the Arts Club and soon became a member of the committee. It was clear that it was verging on a renaissance and I was fortunate to be asked to be President at this time to help guide through the changes and bring the building and club back to life. I am also a member of the 'Porthmeor Group' of painters and a Trustee of the St Ives School of Painting. I have been inspired by painters such as; Picasso, Cezanne, Rouault, Moore, Piper and Nicholson and by the Penwith landscape with its ancient field systems, granite outcrops and mysterious ley lines. I have just discovered the work of another painter, Hughie O'Donoghue and am on yet another wonderful journey of exploration. I hope that in studying the work of other established artists I will find a language to express my own vision of the breathtakingly beautiful and fascinating world that we inhabit. My painting is going through a constant process of growth and development. In my present work I use source material from my collection of life studies and 'plein air' sketching to meld the ancient idea of 'mother earth' - gaia - with earth mother - the female form - both of which have the power to generate life. But in the creative process there seems to be another outside force in play. In the 'execution' of my paintings I sometimes suspect that I am a channel for a capricious 'muse'.
paul stayne