Paul White focuses on a single medium in creating his hyper-detailed works: colored pencil on paper. In particular, the artist is focused on the concepts of decay and objects becoming obsolete. In terms of source material, much of his work is derived from photographs taken of desertscapes and other scenes across the West Coast.
The work of the California Institute of the Arts MFA graduate isn’t can’t be experienced in a casual glance. “’Looking into the familiar yet unknown through shifting time and space,” above, is 35 by 96 inches, offering rich detail in every section of the piece. “A road eroding,” similarly, can be experienced in varying distances.
White’s meditations on plantlife offers a different, vibrant example of the artist’s gorgeous rendering. Though, like his mechanical work,imperfections and varying states of growth ground White’s work in absorbing reality.
White is a Metro Art Award winner and has been a finalist in the Fleurieu Art Prize, Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Fishers Ghost Art Prize, and more. The artist has timelapse videos of his process on his Vimeo page. Below, see how the artist renders abandoned motorcycles over the course of 35 hours.
Paul White – 35 hr drawing time lapse from paul white on Vimeo.