Paul Liggins

Paul Liggins is a Dorset artist who is recognised for his colourful contemporary paintings of coastal scenes featuring happy harbours and jolly fisherman; each painting is full of its own individual detail and humour.

Much of Paul’s work is drawn from an amalgamation of his love for natural history, his sense of humour and the coastal scenery that surrounds him. Local scenery and landmarks become intertwined with a twist of imagination, with each painting having its own story to tell.

In the artist’s own words, “My paintings come about by observing the humour of life that most people pass by each day because they are too busy. Taking time out to observe life makes you realise how great life is”.

Home is in Weymouth, a stone’s throw from the old harbour, which keeps his inspiration for his paintings well nourished. To feed his inspiration further, Paul spends most weekends travelling along the beautiful stretch of Jurassic Dorset coastline between Swanage and Lyme Regis, along with occasional holidays in Cornwall with his family.

In May 2004, Paul took the brave step of leaving full-time employment to become a self-employed artist to enable him to concentrate on the work that he wished to produce and develop his personal style. He has since been displaying his work locally in galleries and at exhibitions and craft fairs.

Artists such as Alfred Wallis and Ben Nicholson have influenced Paul. He also has great admiration for contemporary artists such as Kurt Jackson, McKenzie Thorpe and Doug Hyde. Paul draws his inspiration from the Dorset landscape, mainly its coastal scenery and then turns his thoughts and observations into a contemporary style of painting.

Paul Liggins trained at Bournemouth & Poole College of Art and Design where he specialised in natural history illustration.

After leaving Art College, he pursued a freelance career of illustration and design, producing work for Client’s such as, English Nature and the Council for the Protection of Rural England.

Paul then worked as an Art Director for a company specialising in the provision of equipment to theme parks around the world. His artistic skills were used to produce scenery, murals and sculpture essential to produce the theme of each display.