paul rafferty
Paul’s latest purchase was an antique easel owned
by Augustus John, but he bought it for practical purposes: “A good crank easel is hard to find”
that although he had staged solo exhibitions in New York, he wanted to show in London, especially as his sensibilities are British, above all. After returning several times with various bits of work, the gallery eventually agreed to represent him and suggested this solo show. “With anything in life you cannot be a wallflower,” he
says. “You can’t have that thin a skin. I have walked past people talking about my work. Some things you might hear could be devastating so you need a thick skin. Especially when it comes to galleries or facing a lack of sales. You can’t
16 Artists & Illustrators
ABOVE The Bandstand, St. James’s Park, oil on canvas, 66x91cm
just deride yourself. You have to play up your strengths.” Those strengths, he says, are being able to use bold colour without being garish, but he would like to work on the skin tones within his portraits. The challenges of painting for a living don’t worry Paul unduly because he thrives off them. “You are always competing with yourself,” he says. “That’s not being pessimistic – that’s the reality. But it’s a nice thing because it will get me up every day. If I just did a job where I just knocked work out that would be soul destroying. That drive is always there.” A&I
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