'Lovers / Weavers'

From Paul Compton’s works emerges a sense of the wonderful unknown. Describing his works as “symbolic, illustrative, and quirky”, the Melbourne-based artist’s career centralises around his vivid imagination. Giving life to mystical creatures through his printmaking and drawing practice, Compton takes amorphous forms and imagined characters and infuses them with their own personal presence. In Compton’s world, things appear at once familiar and unfamiliar

'Protector'

Compton is both an avid illustrator and a printmaker, and his skills range fluidly across different mediums. Where using pen and ink allows for immediacy and permanence, his linocut practice is often defined by stark contrasts - intriguing patterns created through monochromatic tones. In ‘Shudderer’, the carved white lines appear luminescent against the black background - patterns working in unison to create a fantastical, anonymous form.

'Shudderer'

'Fallen'

Straight from the depths of his imagination, Compton’s works intrigue and entice. Informed by his own private artistic mythology, the artist infuses his works with symbols from his personal life - as Compton explains “I love so many things I can’t help but draw them”. Even abstracted figures are significant to him, helping give shape to ungraspable concepts. Each work allows the viewer a glimpse into his interior world.

'half light, half life'

The sources of inspiration for Compton are vast - from the texture of feathers, to old horror films - the artist finds constant inspiration from the world around him. A recurring visual motif in his works is that of animals - creatures both real and imagined. This is seen with his ‘Shadeer’, this mysterious hybridisation of animals, existing in the borderline of known species. 

'Shadeer'

'I was the lion'

Often blending realistic figuration with a sense of the absurd, Compton’s works unfold as vivid, multi-layered worlds. Each piece draws the viewer in, inviting space for personal interpretation and discovery. For lovers of innovative contemporary artists, or those looking for a creative spark in their lives, Compton’s works are a joy to behold. 

'Logos'

'Cuddle-beast boys'