Paul Horton

I wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember, on recalling my childhood it seems I was always drawing and painting - it became the very fabric of my life. I owe my art teacher so much, he made art such an enjoyable subject and I spent many happy hours in the art room. The freedom, guidance and encouragement received during my formative years set the foundations for my artistic career.

I studied drawing and painting at Bournville School of Art, specialising in life drawing and history of art. I also set out on a career within the printing industry, managing to combine this with an ever-developing style of work in both fine art and illustration, selling and exhibiting my work at regular intervals.

It wasn't until the autumn of 1997 that I turned professional, dedicating for the first time ever, all of my energy into my art. I held a major one-man retrospective exhibition in the summer of 1998 entitled 'All in a Life's Work', which was a personal selection of paintings representing my artistic journey. This innovative exhibition also featured a live concert by rock star Steve Harley, who has enjoyed major success, including the classic No. 1 'Make Me Smile (Come up and see me)'. I have always found inspiration through words and music and the creativity and poetic quality of Steve Harley's music has strongly influenced my artistic development. I am honoured and delighted that such a talented and inspirational figure such as Steve has supported my work over so many years.