Literature

Studies in Observation, Preparatory Works in Oil on Paper

These smaller portraits, executed in oil on paper, offer a glimpse into the artist's process, not as rough sketches, but as focused rehearsals in seeing. In them, Paul Wright pares down his brushwork to its most immediate, instinctive gestures. The urgency of these studies lies not in polish but in presence: a head tilted, a gaze held, a flicker of mood caught before it disappears.

Preparatory work is where the painter listens first to their observation, the pose, the emerging composition, the idea, their thoughts.

These works are about learning what the painting needs to become. They are not drafts to be discarded, but moments of clarity: a conversation between hand and eye, intention and instinct. In their looseness lies their power.Here, the studies stand as quiet portraits in their own right. Each one holds the trace of looking; a record of attention, curiosity, and the slow work of understanding another person.