Paul Wakeford

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an artist. There’s something about putting music on and disappearing into a world of colour and emotion that’s always felt natural to me. My work is inspired by atmosphere, memory, music, and personal connection. Working across acrylics, pastels, and oils, I create paintings that are emotional, expressive, and personal to the people who connect with them. This website is a small insight into my world, my journey, and the artwork that continues to shape it.

I studied at the Arts Institute Bournemouth taking a Graphic design course with a view to use my artistic side in a world where IT was the future. I had a few jobs and then was very lucky to find a position which utilised my skills at a framing and printing firm. I was able to learn about stretching canvases, framing artists’ work professionally, and scanning and printing artists’ work. I work for a number of inspiring artists, and always felt one day I had to try to make it and frame my own art.

I also joined a group of aspiring artists locally, and I found an environment where I could work and talk with other artists. Here I was introduced to another medium and tried pastels for the first time. My first pastel drawing was “Make a Wish”. I loved using pastels, and the thought of using another medium wasn’t so scary anymore – I found a lot of the skills I already used in drawing were transferable into other mediums too. Although the group disbanded after the person who ran the group retired, I then found acrylics and loved working with them and the bright colours you could get.

I started trying a different style to what I was used to after a few paintings in acrylics. I decided I was going to try and concentrate on the colours and not take the time so much on unnecessary details. I started this with a painting of a sunset over the sea, “Studland Surrenders”. The response I received was amazing. I have always had the support of my family and the inspiration from other artists’ work, but to see the response to my work from strangers, and fellow artists was unbelievable. My family have been behind me all the way and have always pushed me into having confidence in my artwork, and the response to the painting gave them a reason to push that I couldn’t ignore, so here we are…