"The Killers saw Paul Normansell in a GQ magazine article about an A Gallery show Paul was in and so they asked him to paint their portraits and the cover for their latest album 'Day and Age' which went to No.1 in the Uk and No.6 in the USA, selling 200,000 copies in its first week.
The Killers liked the artwork Paul did so much that they used his paintings in the video for 'Human' (in fact much of that video is centered around Paul's use of repetitive dots.)(Watch the video here)
Since Paul Normansell was commissioned by The Killers A Gallery sold out the entire show he was in in 10 days, his prices have tripled, and kept on selling.
Paul Normansell's artwork got called the Best Album Artwork in the World for 2008 by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Currently Paul Normansell is working on two paintings in collaboration with The Killers, which will be officially acknowledged by them, with their signatures, for a show in summer in Notting Hill."(A gallery)
PAUL NORMANSELL'S STATEMENT :
"The foundation of my work originates from the relationship between Art and Music. I wanted to try and create a link between colour, shape and sound. My abstract paintings are based on colour studies exploring how colours can stimulate feelings, emotions within a person, and the different meanings each colour has, and its power to evoke a certain response from the viewer.
From experimenting with colour my paintings became more illusional. I tried to create the illusion of movement, stimulating the eye into seeing things which may or may not be there. This seems to be testament to the human inclination to see patterns in randomness like looking for shapes in clouds or finding images within magic-eye pictures. The more you study the image the more you find. Each painting is individual, painted in gloss paint onto aluminium or board, each dot of paint is painted freehand using a brush. I use gloss paint and aluminium because of there reflective qualities and find it helps to enhance the optical effect of my work.
The natural progression of my work led me to incorporate images within the dots. I then began to experiment with imagery and to create dot portraits. I wanted to paint famous icons known for their beauty. The images I use are taken from magazines that portray perfect/flawless images of models. This helps me to create a perfect likeness and because of the perfect and plastic like finish of gloss and the meticulous execution, the paintings are almost doll like in appearance, the same way the media create an image of the icon. All flaws are dicarded, the skin is perfect. The images also work on an optical level. As you look at the image directly depending on how the light is catching the image the variety and definition of colour and tone is lost and the portrait almost becomes a silouette. It's only when you stand off centre the image comes alive and the portrait appears.
Following this I became interested in fashion images and began to focus on certain areas of the figure. Through exploring the optical aspect of the portrait I wanted to focus more on colour again. The figurative works have a pop art influence with vibrant colours and stylistic approach. Parts of the figure are still painted in dots, this is to enhance certain areas, usually the make-up and jewellery. This helps to create a balance between flat painted areas and raised areas throughout the composition." ( PAUL NORMANSELL)
☁ PAUL NORMANSELL
☁ PAUL NORMANSELL @ A Gallery
☁ The Killers
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