About the artist

Paul painting with the Wapping Group of Artists at Kingston upon Thames

Paul Banning is self-taught painter, working in watercolours and oils, with a constant curiosity to explore the potential of the medium. He uses a free and expressive style, and loves to paint outdoors, and capture the life of the subject with sensitivity. Paul has had numerous one man shows, in the UK, France, Holland and in the place of his birth, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

Paul’s work has been hung in the Royal Academy and other professional painting competitions including the Sunday Times Watercolour Competition and Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize.

In 2011, Paul was awarded the Turner Watercolour Award Bronze Medal for an outstanding group of paintings.

As a child, Paul painted the rugged coastline of Trinidad and it is a place that still holds an allure. He loves to return to where he spent his early childhood, with his sketch book and paints to capture the vibrancy of a changing island. Paul’s last one-man exhibition was in 2019 in Port of Spain which featured recent paintings from the island he calls ‘home’.

When Paul is not painting, he is tutoring and inspiring others to develop their talents in sketching and painting, both in oil and watercolour.

Paul’s work can be viewed and bought via his Shop.

Paul working in his oil studio