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“Following a dream to become an artist”

We love to hear your stories about life in Newcastle – here resident Paul Horton tells us how he went from working in electronic engineering, and not painting for over 25 years, to now painting landscapes, seascapes and still life here in Newcastle-under-Lyme – with many of his artworks now being collected by art-lovers throughout the world.

Art was my favourite subject at school, my earliest memory of an artwork I did, was showing my friends in junior school how I painted a portrait of William Shakespeare, although eventually taking my O Level in Art, I didn’t continue with it after leaving school.

I never went to art school, I never thought that I could ever paint artworks that people would want to buy. So I turned my back on art and went into the world of electronic engineering.

It would be another 25 years until I picked up my paint brushes again. A decision I now regret. 25 years after leaving school and a career in electronic engineering and operations management, I decided to pick up the paint brushes again, this time to help me de-stress.

I painted on a regular basis for the next five years until I was made redundant in 2013. I decided to continue to paint and concentrate on sea and landscape artworks and life as an artist.

I am self taught, and over the years I have learned to use pastel, watercolour, acrylic and oil paints.

Learning different styles and techniques from some of the best artists. I learned a lot by trial and error and years of practice and seeing what worked and what didn’t.

In 2019 my artwork ‘Somewhere In Time’ won the ‘People's Choice’ award at the Brampton Museum & Art Gallery Open Art Exhibition and I won the opportunity to have a solo exhibition the following year in 2020 (unfortunately it was cut short due to the Covid lockdown).

Now, I am a member of the Society Of Staffordshire Artists, I am currently displaying my art throughout the county.

I have my art studio in the town centre of Newcastle-under-Lyme and also display in Castle Art Gallery in Fogg Street in the town centre too.

I realise now that I made a big mistake in not believing I had the ability to follow my dream and have a career as an artist, I can’t change the past so look forward to the future and continue the rest of my life as an artist, as a Staffordshire artist... a place far from the sea, maybe that’s why I paint it... my studio always has a sea view, a Paul Newcastle Artwork.

I paint under the name Paul Newcastle as there is another artist who paints with my real name Paul Horton - it’s a bit like actors, it’s too confusing if they have the same name - and our artwork was getting mixed up with different people.

So it was easier to change my name and I’m born and bred in Newcastle so as a tribute to my home town that’s now me Paul Newcastle artist.

However, I do write fiction novels under my real name PJ Horton. I’m currently writing my fourth fiction novel.

To see more of Paul’s artwork, go online to: https://paulnewcastle.com; while for more information about Paul’s literature work, go online to: pjhorton.com.