About Me
‘Art happens. No hovel is safe from it. No prince may depend upon it. The vastest intelligence cannot bring it about.’ James McNeill Whistler
My name is Paul Noonan, originally from London. Largely self taught, my art journey has often steered me towards the challenges of portraiture. A journey, over a number of years, that has seen me accept each challenge as a potential stepping stone towards personal improvement as an artist.
Drawn
My medium of choice is the graphite pencil. My ongoing learning experience draws much from the close study of classical art. Artists of the Renaissance and the PreRaphealite movement have done much to inspire me. A special place is reserved for Leonardo da Vinci. What draws me to his work is his incredible understanding of light and use of chiaroscuro.
Light is the chaser-away of dark
Shade is the obstruction of light
Everything in nature is shaped by them.
Leonardo da Vinci
Light
‘It’s all about the light……’
It’s fair to say these words have become something of a ‘mantra’ to me. It took me a while to ‘cotton on’, but I began to notice the way light plays all kinds of trickery on the human form. Skin can absorb it, reflect it and at times, seemingly glow with it. I’ve come to enjoy the challenge of trying to capture this on paper.
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Two galleries here show examples of my work. Upon looking at a picture, if you feel you are looking at ‘someone’, and not just a picture, then I will feel I have accomplished something of what I tried to do.
For me art is a continuous journey. Along the way perhaps the most significant discovery to date has found me appreciating the role light plays in nature and in art. I hope the name of this website, and the pictures within it, reflect that.
