Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Bond.
Hi Paul, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From an early age, I knew I had an artistic gift, and I studied fine art and painted off and on, but I ended up getting a degree in graphic design and did commercial art and illustration for most of my life. It wasn’t until I met my current wife about 13 years ago and she saw some of my paintings stored in a closet that I got the kick in the butt I needed to give my painting career the attention it deserved. Soon thereafter, I was juried into the prestigious Laguna Beach Festival of the Arts which where I have been exhibiting for 12 years now and that venue and the collectors that have come through it have launched my career to a level where I know have more demand for my paintings then I can keep up with.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For me, it has been quite smooth and organic. I was not attached to “making it” as an artist. I just started creating the images that appealed to me and through connections and exhibit venues that developed along the way, before I knew it I was able to let go of the graphics work and start painting full time. I license my work for cards, calendars and high-end puzzles and even those connections happened from those companies reaching out to me. My nature is to allow my life to evolve naturally and my art career has followed that same path.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When people ask what I paint, the most simultaneously vague and succinct answer I can give is that I paint dreams. To expand on that. I create what I call Magic Realism artworks that are grounded in reality in terms of the rendering detail, natural color pallet, etc. But my scenes are filled with fantastic elements and subjects that stretch and defy everyday reality. To me, it is a representation of how we dream, or at least how we remember our dreams – in that they feel very real but are filled with the surreal, absurd and whimsical. Yet my paintings are also very narrative and symbolic. All of the elements have deeper meaning beyond the desire to simply delight the viewer. I use my art to tell stories that have meaning to me. They are fairy tales for adults.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
My little beach town of San Clemente is a perfect place for me to be living. I surf regularly and there is almost always surf here. It has a small-town feel but is also close to LA and San Diego if we are looking for cultural events we can’t find locally. The least? The only art store in town closed down so now I have to travel 1/2 hour for supplies. I can and do order online, but I still like to feel brushes before I buy them.
Pricing:
- Original rage from $3,000 – $25,000
- Limited Edition Prints start at $90
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: paulbondart.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/paulbondfineart
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/PaulBondFineArt
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCDpPDw342BdVV-GwE5VauFw
