ABOUT PAUL MELLIA
PA- MEUL LLIA
Now in his late 50s, Londoner Paul Mellia has established a reputation over the last 30 years as a super-realist artist, specializing in detailed illustrations of themes from popular culture – film stars, sports cars, comic book super-heroes. Paul's approach is almost sculptural; painting and peeling away layers, until the final un-masking of one of his new Originals. He immerses himself in the timeless meditation of creation, focusing on every intricate detail, a flicker of light here, a thread of hair there. After graduating with a fine art degree his first appointment was painting frescos and 16th Century images for the Baroness De Vail in Paris. There, he lived a Bohemian existence, basking in the inspiration of legendary painters and sculptors such as Rodin, Gauguin, Picasso and Dali. But it was Warhol’s Pop Art that resonated the deepest, subsequently fueling Paul to focus on what he loved most - images of Americana, gleaned from books given to him as a child. ‘From a very early age I was able to paint them in fine detail. I wanted to make them real and show a different side of them’. The hero’s journey that Paul lures us into, delves beyond the innocent domain of primary school kids. The Joker has a dark night of the soul; Catwoman is just daring you to say “No” and The Hulk is brooding, sinister... In 2010 Paul’s - Thomas the Tank Engine - was bought at a private auction by HIT Entertainment, and then presented by them to H.R.H Queen Elizabeth II. Paul was the first artist in 60 years allowed to recreate ‘Thomas the Tank & Friends’ as original works of art under HIT Entertainment’s Fine Art license.
ARTMOORHOUSE 120 LONDON WALL, LONDON EC2Y 5ET
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SEPTEMBER 19TH -OCTOBER 18TH OF P AINT
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BY P AUL M
ELLI
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2017