Paul Williams

Paul Williams

Biography
Born in 1940 Sydney, Australia. Williams currently Lives and works as an artist in Sydney. Having enjoyed a rewarding career in arts, Williams has won numerous art prizes.

Artist Statement
My abstracted landscape paintings engage with the interface of land, sea and sky and are mostly the product of my emotional connection with Middle Harbour, which is close to my home. If you look seawards from Balmoral Beach on a fine evening, you will be astonished by the changing colour harmonies both in the sea and in the vast and fluid motions of the clouds. It is a time of peace and tranquillity as the light fades and the world settles.
I like to use many layers of acrylic paint and various mediums. These are applied intuitively to the canvas, sometimes with the goal of achieving an illusion of translucent atmospherics. Over time, the work in progress may present exciting opportunities, which if followed, puts one on track for a successful outcome. In the process of abstraction I am mindful of the power of atmospherics to create a sense of mystery and an awareness of what seems hidden from view.
As for my figurative work, I find a basic grounding in life drawing has been essential in pursuing a contemporary style. Matisse obliquely touched on this issue. He was asked why artists needed a model if they intended to deviate from it. He replied mischievously: “If there were no model, one would have nothing from which to deviate.” After a life drawing session I take several sketches home and work them up into paintings, sometimes working on six or eight at once. I always seem to be dealing with absurdity and gravitas. Can they coexist?
In my art practice generally, essential factors are spontaneity, urgency and the unpredictable. There is a constant need to make decisions on how to instill more excitement in a work. When my work is going well I am excited at the prospect of something unexpected and beautiful happening. When people see my work I would like them to gain a novel insight into the subject being addressed by the artist and perhaps to sense the intense joy being felt in the process of creation.

Education
2010-2017 Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby N.S.W.

Duo Exhibition
2023 Bending Reality (with Phillipa Buttters), Thienny Lee Gallery, Sydney
2021 Liminal Moments (with Phillipa Butters), Thienny Lee Gallery, Sydney.
2019 Edge of the Id (with Phillipa Butters), Thienny Lee Gallery, Sydney.
2018 Otherness (with Phillipa Butters), Thienny Lee Gallery, Sydney.

Selected Group Exhibitions
2020 Ewart Art Prize, Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby.
2019 artists of mosman: 2088, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2018 artists of mosman: 2088, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman
2017 Northern Beaches Art Prize Finalist, Northern Beaches.
2017 Nature, Gallery 307, Northbridge.
2017 A Touch of France and Australia, Gallery 307, Northbridge.
2017 Hunters Hill Art Prize Finalist, Hunter Hill.
2017 Mosman Artists 2088, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2017 Ewart Art Prize, Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby.
2016 Mosman Artists 2088, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2016 Warringah Art Prize, Warringah Creative Space, Warringah.
2015 Works, Ewart Gallery, Willoughby.
2015 New Works, Gallery 307, Northbridge.
2015 Mosman Art Society Members, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2014 End of Year Exhibition, Gallery 307, Northbridge.
2014 Mosman Artists 2088, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2013 Workshop Art Centre Revealed, Willoughby City Council
2012 Three Mosman Artists, Fix8 Gallery, Freshwater.
2012 In Profile, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2012 Mosman Art Society Members, Mosman Art Gallery, Mosman.
2011 Outback, Gallery 307, Northbridge
2010 New Figures, Gallery 307, Northbridge.
2009 New Works, Gallery 41, Woolloomoo
2008 Three Figurative Artists, Borg Gallery, Green Point.
2006 New Horizons, Washhouse Gallery, Rozelle.
2005 Art Sydney 05, Sarah Roney Galleries Paddington, at Fox Studios.

Awards
2020 Overall Winner, Ewart Art Prize.
2017 Runner Up, Works on Paper, Northbridge Art Prize.
2017 Highly Commended, Works on Paper, Northbridge Art Prize.
2014 Winner, Painting Category, Northbridge Art Prize.
2013 Highly Commended (Drawing), Ewart Art Prize.
2012 Second Place (Works on Paper), Northbridge Art Prize.
2010 Winner, Works on Paper, Northbridge Art Prize.
2009 Highly Commended, Works on Paper, Northbridge Art Prize.

Collections
Private collections in Australia and Overseas.

Associations
Member Workshop Arts Centre, Willoughby
Member Mosman Art Society
Member Art Gallery Society of New South Wales
Member Friends of Mosman Art Gallery
Associate of former Brandling Street Painters