Paul Housley, UK

Paul Housley (b. 1964) lives and works in London. Housley has a singular ability to represent his subjects in a style that is both direct and obtuse.

Though many of Housley’s paintings reference the old masters, their small scale is anti-grandiose, fitting equally alongside his paintings of commonplace objects. The weight of his subject matter, whether iconic portrait or every-day knick-knack, is disarmed by the equal treatment given; the subjects become secondary to the paintings themselves. The genres of landscape, still life’s and portraiture are the staple of his work. But the boundaries of these genres are often blurred or stretched so that for example a winter landscape becomes something of a self portrait depicting the inner emotional life and psychology of the Artist.