Presenting Paul McCarthy

Paul is an exceptional visual artist with a high level of proficiency across multiple mediums. He possesses a distinctive sensibility for line, colour, and composition. He is a gifted draughtsman, demonstrating remarkable accuracy in rendering his subjects, complemented by his sophisticated use of colour and his ability to simplify forms while maintaining visual intrigue. Deeply informed by his surroundings, Paul is in particular an accomplished plein air artist and is, in my view, among the finest in Australia. Paul is an insightful and generous tutor who shares his techniques and knowledge openly, creating workshops that are both enjoyable and highly effective. He is an active and dynamic educator who demonstrates freely and provides thoughtful, individual feedback to each student.

I have known Paul as an artist and colleague for more than 10 years, starting when I first booked him to conduct an oil painting workshop for my art group.  More recently I scheduled Paul to lead a two-day workshop in June 2025 for members of the Pastel Society NSW.  Paul takes his teaching very seriously and is a very popular tutor:  he creates a relaxed atmosphere that makes his students feel at ease and free from pressure while learning.

I was very fortunate to learn and create Pastel artworks with Paul McCarthy an inspiring skilful teacher and artist. His method of demonstration followed by technique, and the many variations in the use of pastels, allowed us to create beautiful works in our own style. Works that show light colour texture and originality.  I highly recommend his classes in this medium.