Paul Liggins is a Dorset-based artist living and working on the rugged island of Portland, and we’re delighted to welcome him as a guest artist at Jurassic Coast Designs. His work intertwines local landmarks with a whimsical take on coastal life in Dorset and beyond, creating paintings that evoke happy memories of time spent by the sea. Each piece is filled with charming detail and gentle humour, capturing the carefree warmth and joyful spirit of summer.
What first inspired you to become an artist, and how did your creative journey begin?
I’ve always been creative since childhood, I was always interested in nature, and trying to draw creepy crawlies or animals! I went on to study Natural History Illustration at Bournemouth and Poole Art College where I learnt different skills that helped me to be more confident in becoming a artist.
How does living near the coast influence your work? Are there particular places, weather conditions, or seasons that spark ideas?
The coast is the best inspiration for my paintings. Just taking a walk around the wonderful island of Portland where I live, is a visual stimulation that I need to create paintings. With these visuals in my mind, the ideas then make there way to my sketchbook of ideas, for paintings.
Describe your creative process: where do you usually work, and what does a typical day in your life look like?
Some paintings can take a couple of months of playing around in my head, then all of a sudden the spark clicks and it’s a flurry of getting it down to its complete idea in my sketchbook, and then drawn onto canvas. I now work from a small corner of my home, where the creative process can be seen in an organised mess of pots of old paintbrushes, sketchbooks, and enamel plates of used paints but I know where everything is in this chaos! I start my day painting at about eight o’clock, after my wake-me-up coffee. I usually work until dinnertime and watch the news — God knows why! Then I start work again and carry on until five o’clock. But I never switch off, finding inspiration from all around me for ideas for new paintings.
What’s your favourite detail hidden in your artwork that people might not notice at first glance?
I have a few things I normally hide in my paintings — my son’s name or his date of birth. The ginger cat is Ben, a cat I had for eighteen years, and the small little black dog was Oscar, who broke my heart when he passed. So really, these things are pieces of my heart for them, that will live on, in one of my paintings.
Which artists have influenced your style the most over the years?
The main artist that I love is Alfred Wallis, a Cornish artist who was a mariner and self-taught painter, who captured the great feeling of the coastline and harbours. Vastly different to my paintings, but capturing the same ideas — a feeling of love for your surroundings and subject matter! The other is the Newlyn School of painters. I try to do a modern take on these artists, with fishermen intermingled with their surroundings and their relationship with the sea.
If your artwork could tell one story about Dorset or coastal life, what would it be?
I aim to capture that happy feeling we all get at being near the sea or coastline.
What has been the most unexpected or rewarding moment in your artistic career so far?
I have managed to raise a lot of money for the RNLI which has really made me happy. It’s a great charity that does so much for coastal communities.
Where can people follow your work, and do you take commissions?
My work can be found at Paul Liggins Art on Facebook, if you would like to commission a painting please leave a message on this page and we can work together to create a painting to give you lasting memories of a place or person.
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Remember a Artist is for life not just for Christmas!
CLICK HERE to see Paul's collections on Jurassic Coast Designs
If you are based in Dorset and would like to apply to be a guest artist please CLICK HERE.
