Paul Horton – A modern day Lowry.
I think we live in a country that is based around humour, from the grimmest of situations where each day was a bit of a struggle there is always a less fraught take to a seemingly grey and hard life. Seems a bit heavy you might say but as I was trekking round my regional gallery I saw some of the pieces by Paul Horton.
How I would put into context the feel of Paul Horton’s pieces is that of the straight man in a comedy, that poised moment ahead of the laugh. Thought of by many as a present day Lowry, his art shines through, taking pretty grim settings and turning them into something homely and peaceful.
Paul Horton went to Bournville school of Art where he studied drawing and painting, he then went into the printing industry, until in 1997 he went full time with his creations, placing all of his efforts into the subject that gave him a great deal of pleasure. A long journey from the boy inspired by his art’s teacher to one practicing his craft to such a large degree.
Paul Horton’s work just draws you in with its peaceful colours and sedate “action” scenes letting you feel at rest while you, take in the many aspects of the image often full of pathos and symbolism. Paul Horton likes to imagine his work as opening the gateway for individuals to enter his landscape of imagination and make of it what they will. I think it achieves this but also leaves you wanting to see another scene from his grimly optimistic cityscape.