Illustrator Paul Leith To Take Over Tullie House This Summer
By Arran George
A vibrant exhibition by Illustrator Paul Leith will be taking over Tullie House this summer, however it might have you asking yourself, ‘Where have I seen this before?’
Originally from South Shields, Paul moved to London in the 1960’s to begin a career in art. While in London, he worked on artworks for some of the biggest brands in advertising, print and publishing. These included such notable names as the Radio Times, The Economist, British Rail and a whole host of supermarket brands.
When Paul began his early commercial work, almost all of it was created with a set of 72 Cumberland Pencils. He worked by hand on his commercial briefs, something he continues to do to this day.
With a certain pride, Paul said: “I still do everything by hand.”
So what does he make of digital art?
Paul replied: “You mean computers? I can’t do any of that”
He added: “I don’t have any interest in computers, I don’t even have a mobile phone.”
Over the next couple of years, Paul’s style evolved and began to resemble the illustrative style he is known for today. It was during the early 1980’s that he developed his signature illustration style, using cut out stencils and sponge acrylic paints.
Following the success of ‘Time Passing’ in the 1984 Benson and Hedges Competition, Paul was signed up with a Sharp Practice illustration agent and quickly became one of London’s top illustrators. He worked constantly for the next 10 years, his wife Tina and neighbours helping to meet the demand by cutting out stencils, faxing roughs to clients and making cups of tea to stall couriers while their art work was being dried off with a hair dryer upstairs.
In the late 1990s new technologies changed the industry. Still working for a few editorial clients, Paul developed a new tissue paper collage style, but as digital became dominant, Paul and the fax machine went under the radar.
Most people will know Paul’s work from the vibrant murals and paintings he has created around the city since moving to Carlisle in 2009. His paintings, which can be seen at Bitts Park, Talkin Tarn and Hammond Pond, provide an exciting splash of colour and brightness to everyday scenes in Carlisle.
These murals begin with sketches of the streets and the people of Carlisle. Paul uses his sketches to create large scale felt works of what he calls, “familiar scenes”, presenting the city in a splash of technicolour. In the exhibition ‘Paul Leith: Technicolour Carlisle’, Paul’s felt works are on public display for the first time; inviting visitors to take an alternative look at the city.
Visitors to the exhibition are encouraged to take inspiration from Paul’s artwork and create their own masterpiece in the large activity area in the gallery. Paul believes it is important for people to not just observe, but actually create art at his show.
He said: “I think all people are good at art really, especially children. It’s just people grow up and they have to do other things, don’t they?”
Paul’s earnest intrigue plays a large part in his artwork. With crowds and bright colours, it may be hard to notice at first, but on closer look, all the people in Paul’s murals are unique creations, standing separate from whatever is around them. The greatness of Paul’s artwork is not that we recognise the people or places in them, it’s more that we see how individual and unique every person is, highlighted by their isolation from everything else.
The exhibition will present a retrospective of commercial works from 1966 until the late 1990s, and a chance to see local filmmakers BOSC Production’s documentary ‘Leith’ exploring Paul’s journey from creating illustrations for a brief to making art.
‘Paul Leith: Technicolour Carlisle’ is on display at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery from Saturday 27 May – Sunday 1 October.
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