About - Paul Arts

My name is Arts, Paul Arts

My artistic journey began working in a more realistic style, mainly through portraiture. Over time, my work has gradually moved towards a more abstract language.

Back to La Tierra

Living and Creating

In 2018, together with my partner Marina, I started the eco-project Back to La Tierra near Málaga. Living and working there has had a strong influence on both my daily life and my artistic process.

I began using natural materials from my surroundings in Andalusia, such as mineral pigments, lime and marble powder. Combined, these form Venetian plaster or marmorino, a material with a long history, from ancient Greece and Rome to the palaces of Venice.

In my more recent work, including the series Simple Isn’t Easy, I combine these surfaces with matte chalk paint. For Colours of Andalucía, I often use clay paint, chalk paint, gum arabic and linseed oil. I also work with egg tempera, using egg yolk from our own hens. At times I incorporate iron and copper powders, allowing them to oxidise naturally, so the material itself becomes part of the process.

I try to keep my work connected to the place where I live, letting materials, texture and time play their role in the final image.

Defining Moments

The Long Live Rembrandt Competition

In 2019, I had the honour of being selected as one of the winners of the Lang Leve Rembrandt competition, organised to mark the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt van Rijn’s death.

Rembrandt has always been my favourite painter, so this made the experience even more special. My work was exhibited for three months in the emblematic Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, alongside the other winners. Seeing my painting in such a historic setting was a quiet but meaningful moment that continues to influence my work today.

the long live rembrandt competition paul arts 2

Portrait of Cayetana, Duquesa de Alba

In 2022, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a message from Eugenia, Duchess of Montoro. She is the daughter of Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, the Duchess of Alba, who passed away in 2014. Her mother was not only the most titled aristocrat in the world, but also a remarkable and unconventional personality.

Eugenia told me that the portrait I had painted was the most beautiful she knew of her mother and that she wished to add it to her collection. She invited me to the beautiful Palacio de las Dueñas in Seville, one of the historic residences of the Alba family, where I had the pleasure of personally handing it over to her during a warm and memorable meeting.