When searching for artwork to display at SAINT ELLE we tried to find unique artists that represented the venues style and emotion. Our sights landed on the work of Paul Collins and we were drawn to his approach and subject matter. Paul Collins is an artist, curator, and educator from Nashville, TN. Paul makes paintings, drawings and sculpture that combine humor, tactility and observation to examine the world. A self proclaimed “tree hugger”, Collins never met a vine he didn’t enjoy killing. Paul has an MFA from Yale University and has been a resident at Skowhegan, Anderson Ranch Arts Center and the Vermont Studio Center. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Art Voices, Fresh Paint Magazine, and has been exhibited across the US. Paul teaches at Austin Peay State University.
Paul’s painting “Washed Out” now lives at SAINT ELLE! You can see more of his work at Red Arrow Gallery. Check out their collection of artists / artwork and prepare to be inspired!
Read on to learn more about Paul and his art!
Photo: Austin Lord for NATIVE
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you got into art?
I’ve lived in Nashville for a decade, but before that lived all over the place with the longest being NYC. I have always made art but one thing that has pushed my art in a big way is being around other artists. I’m married to the fantastic artist Alex Blau, I get to teach art in an incredibly inspiring artist community at Austin Peay State University, and nowhere beats Nashville for having a more welcoming and collaborative art scene.
Title: Artist Cabin
Title: Fallen Wood
How do you approach starting a new piece?
I make work by throwing myself into the process. The works are all done on site from observation and I work daily over a period of weeks at the same location rain or shine. When it’s raining the piece starts with putting down my coffee cup and putting on my boots and getting going. I have a homemade backpack for supplies and I carry the paper taped to a big sheet of pink insulating styrofoam. This painting was made at an artist residence in rural woodsy Georgia, and I just walked out my door and off into the woods. When I look around the world I can see beauty and interest everywhere, but when push comes to shove there is always something that catches my eye and calls me to action. I found this view on a path switchback looking up through a sequence of different tree forms. I propped my styrofoam up on a stump and started to paint. The rain started and washed my out twice before it calmed enough for the ink to stick.
Where did you draw inspiration for these specific pieces / series?
I’ve always revered trees. I’m surprised they are not more respected as living beings of incredible scale in time and space. Guess that makes me a druid or at least a “tree hugger”. I’ve been working in and around Nashville for years painting people and the city. I applied for this residency in the woods as a chance to focus on the natural world aside from people and peopleness. I set aside the time to drink in the majesty of trees and reflect back on my experiences with them over my life.
Title: White Pines
How does where you live, affect the outcome of your work?
Dramatically. I focus on my experience with the world and its influence on me and my family in every project I tackle whether it’s drawing in a courtroom or a forest. I have strived to make that connection tighter over time, which is why I paint more on the sidewalk than in my studio.
Do you listen to anything specific when you are working?
Anything just not news. I LOVE Damian Jurado and Modest Mouse ... or college stations on internet radio, 107.5 The River. When I’m working in public there’s usually someone curious about what I’m doing and talking to me. In the woods it was just silence and the rain.
What is something about this work that someone might not pick up on immediately?
Look closely and you can see the washouts where something was painted before the rain drops ate at the marks. Can you see where I have given up with the brushy end of the brush and used the stick end to scratch the ink into the wet surface of the paper?
Title: Washed Out