Featured Artist Paul Rooms

Enjoy Paul Rooms’ delightful portfolio, and find out more about this artist by visiting his website.

 

 

I have not been painting since I was a child and I have had no formal art training.

 

 

Instead, in the first part of my life I have been like a sponge, absorbing the stories of my family, the travels, the mixture of different languages and cultures of the many countries where my ancestors have lived, the seas they have sailed and the adventures they have gone through.

 

 

Then a time came for the sponge to be squeezed: I became a painter. Since then I have had several solo exhibitions, and sold my artwork to collectors from all parts of the world. I now live and work in New York, temporarily, I suppose.

 

 

In my work travel is the main metaphor of life, with its storms, dead calms, shipwrecks and rescues; watercolor is my medium, light-weight, perfect for travelling, and I love it because, once it’s on the paper, it doesn’t give you a second chance, mistakes are not allowed.

 

 

Having lived in Italy many years, I am influenced by Italian art for color and structure, and the ancient Latin and Greek cultures which I had the opportunity to study.

 

 

But, because of the Flemish part of my family, I am inspired by the Dutch painters of the 16th century and the Belgian surrealist tradition. From the contrast between these two cultures comes my very personal style.

 

 

Yet, my more profound inspiration is the inner child.

 

 

The inner child is vitality, imagination, passion. It is the ability to see the world like no one else, the desire to explore, discover and learn, the openness of mind, the capacity of letting yourself be surprised and connect with the numinous.

 

 

The inner child is my best friend and my art is a daily conversation with him and the one within all of you, reminding that, notwithstanding the perils and sorrows that life brings, the world is an enchanted island.

 

Paul Rooms invites you to follow him on Facebook.