1 If you weren’t an artist, what else would you be?
I’d like to work in the music industry as a musician or DJ.
2 Name 3 of your least favourite artists.
I don’t have three least favourite artists, but conceptual or performance art isn’t really my thing.
3. Anytime, anyplace – which artist’s body would you most like to inhabit?
I would love to be inside the mind of Salvador Dali.
4 What is your favourite ‘ism’?
Escapism.
5 What was the most intelligent thing that someone said or wrote about your work?
Greg Nasmyth from Lusso magazine said: ‘While his most recent works of iconic images of celebrities from the fashion and music worlds may have won him all the plaudits, a glance over his back catalogue of figurative compositions lends weight to the supposition that this boy is no one trick pony, displaying not only a strong eye for the nuances of the female form but with an interpretation and style that is entirely befitting of the age in which we live and compare favourably with that master of pop art Lichtenstein’.
6. And the dumbest?
One reviewer said that my paintings are all computer generated. If only it was that easy!
7 Which artists would you most like to rip off, sorry, I mean appropriate as a critique of originality and authorship?
I know it’s an obvious choice, but I would have to say Banksy – he delivers powerful messages in a humourous way. The mystique around him gets people talking.
8 Do you care what your art costs? State your reasons!
Yes, because it takes a long time to create each painting. Plus, my way of working is literally back-breaking because I have to paint bending over all the time.
9 What are the three big ideas that you would like your work to express?
Popular culture, reality and emotions.
10 Are you a political artist?
No.
11 How do you start the process of making work?
I’ll start off with a powerful image that will work well in my figurative style. Mostly I’ll organise a photo-shoot to get the right shot, or else source images of iconic musicians or models.
12 What next?
I then draw out the image onto a canvas, sectioning it into shapes, tones and colours so that it’s fragmented into small shapes. Then I draw the outline onto the aluminium, and start painting individual dots using high gloss paint and a paintbrush so thin it only has four hairs!
13 If Moma and the Tate and the Pompidou wanted to acquire one of your works each, which would you want them to have?
Moma- Marilyn Monroe no.2.
Tate- Fluorescent Adolescent.
Pompidou- Cheer up boy your make-ups running.
14 Complete the following sentence “Blessed are the artists, for they shall……”
Innovate and create.
15 Complete the following sentence “Blessed are the curators, for they shall…”
Collate and celebrate.
16 Complete the following sentence “Blessed are the critics, for they shall…”
Judge and not be judged.
17. What is your favourite cheese?
I’m quite partial to a bit of Gorgonzola.
18. What’s next for you?
I’m currently working on a new collection of paintings for a show in New York next year.
www.paulnormansell.com/
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