Chat with Paul keen local artist.
Back where I've lived most of my life in Peterborough/Stamford are a few fellow artists I have had the privilege or working alongside and spilt a few beers with. One chap in particular called Paul Keen had an exhibition on in the Peterborough museum and so i decided to go take a peek and show some support. Me and Paul have worked together before with a group of other artists in the area and this gig was my first live paint jam all held together by a legendary gent called Kaine who owns Korp Academy and help live paint jams open to the public in and around Peterborough and Stamford. Now Kaine runs the Korp Academy teaching incredibly unique styled drawing lessons for adults and even children in the school holidays in cohorts with the local art council and government funding to support childcare funding for those in need. What an absolute heart stealer he is. Go check him out here KORP - Home (korporate.co.uk) Moving back to Paul Keen and this explosion of colour and emotions that he displayed through out 3 large rooms was moving and can you imagine my adhd excitement to see that two walls where covered in acrylic pieces on cardboard!! I eeeeped when I saw that and that's when Paul noticed me and came over for a chat.
I don't know why I did not ask him about using cardboard. I don't know Paul overly well mind and I am quite intimidated by his level of skill that I guess I was too anxious to consciously think of helpful questions at the time. I did however get shown a large store cupboard where there were more even larger paintings left up against one side of the wall and he explained that these ones he did not want to display, i did take a peak and I thought they looked just as powerful as the ones on display. Paul showed me which paints he uses and I was shocked to find that they where a brand that I also use which are not particularly expensive but not the lower end of the scale. Paul uses acrylic paint for the smaller pieces and spray paint for the larger ones. There was different types of surfaces Paul had used in this exhibition. Cardboard, canvas, wood and skateboards!
I enjoy those crisp, tidy lines he creates with the paint by using tape across a surface and then removing. Ahh the satisfaction of slowly tearing the tape away from the surface revealing, hopefully a smooth neat line. I love it.
Paul explained that this collection was done in isolation and completed over a year. "it was a dark depressing time" he admits. This exhibition is indeed about mental health and displays faces of cruel emotions bringing us to that relatable place, those dark times that we all venture through at some points in our lives. But as we walked deeper into the rooms of the gallery the mood changes, colours brighten, slightly at first then powerful at the end showing vibrancy, bold uses of colour and feeling of relief knowing that these feeling are never permanent. It was a pleasure to chat with Paul in person even if my conversation was potentially wobbly to say the least but he seemed understanding and more than happy to show me around. I love that you can put cardboard on the walls of galleries.
I wanted to buy a cardboard piece of his it was against my budget ha. Good for him! What a legendary guy with insightful and very inspiring talents.
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