Style
The character of the work is never far away
from the character of the artist. Humour
is a regular feature: a larger than life
caricature of grandma, animals in evening
dress, they are gentle satire to raise a
smile.
Paul subjects are often quite simply the people
he encounters as well as the natural world
that surrounds him. His work has a narrative
style and he draws much of his inspiration
from other artistic media like film, TV and
music. These media filter facts and present
the world back to us as a story, in the same
way that Paul's sculpture forces us to observe
the fantastic strangeness and comedy of the
world around us. Like characters in film, his
sculptures often inhabit their own world, a
kind of parallel imagined place where people,
animals and even objects step outside what
is normally possible.
Paul constructs in an organic way and by manipulating
the metal piece by piece he brings the sculptures
to life. The movement in the figures, the play
of light across forms, the amazingly delicate
details defy the rigid steel from which they
are made.
Invention is another characteristic. In Paul's
workshop nails, nuts,bolts, chains, springs,
lamps, even keys and coat hangers are given
unexpected jobs and it is perhaps not surprising
that he was commissioned to make a sculpture
for a recycling Centre. "The King of Recycling",
a madcap inventor drives a 'Heath Robinson'
style flying machine.
 Fabrication
The sculptures are made from steel. They are
hollow structures built up from sheet, plate,
bar. The raw material is cut, bent, hammered
to shape and welded together. Surfaces are
given a rich variety of polished up and ground
down textures. Individually hand crafted,
every piece is unique work of art.
Finish
The steel is finished in a variety of ways
according to the nature of the work and the
site. Indoor pieces are often left with shiny
steel surfaces and coated with protective,
clear varnish to maintain this finish. Outdoor
work can also be left as raw steel to let
the forces nature build a stable surface
rust. Equally outdoor works are coated with
a heavy duty exterior varnish which withstands
all rust if they are regularly maintained.
For low maintenance, outdoor pieces are coated
with paint. Paint finishes include a high
metal content heritage quality paint that
takes on the quality of metal. These are
given an additional glaze finish to protect
as well as enhance shine of the surface.
For very low maintenance finishes as well
as challenging environments like coastal sites,
the work is first galvanised and then painted.
This finish gives a very reliable, long term
protective layer. Paulcan also treats the galvanised
surface to achieve a rich chalky grey finish.
In some pieces he uses a combination of a paint
surfaces alongside chalky grey galvanised surface. |
making the work
