Paul Curtis is a Liverpool-based artist specialising in street art and large murals.  His artwork was created in 2017 and since then, he has created more than 200 public pieces, largely in Liverpool and Wirral, but also in locations across the UK.

 

He wasn't always an artist, it was a redundancy in 2015 and an extended period of unemployment that led to him picking up his brushes. He was a geologist in the oil industry for 15 years and holds an MSC in Petroleum Geoscience from the University of Aberdeen in 2001 and a BSc in Geology and Physical Geography for the University of Liverpool.  He left Liverpool in 2000 to live in Aberdeen for 10 years and then moved to London for 5 years.  He moved back to Liverpool in 2016. At that point he had no idea where his life was going…. 

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2022 (click for the 2022 video):

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2022 was perhaps not as prolific as previous years, largely due to a few cancellations towards the end of the year (is the recession starting to pinch?). However, there were many positives to be grateful for.

 

The year kicked off with a tribute to the great Kenny Dalglish painted on the Kop End bar, with Kenny watching over the Liverpool FC fans coming and going to and from the match. This was followed by a trio of historical murals for Pleasant Street School, Liverpool, focussing on the Great Fire of London, the Ancient Egyptians and the Mersey Ferry.

 

In February, Paul's artwork appeared on primetime national television when his Ken Dodd mural was used by chef, Dave Critchley (of LuBan restaurant), to showcase his pimped-up jam butty dessert dish on BBC's Masterchef.

 

Paul's next 2 murals saw him expanding his reach across Merseyside and proved to be 2 of his best, most-loved murals to date. The Widnes Tiger (aka The MarCat) is a riot of colour fusing abstract and realism and guards the entrance to Widnes Market. The Clockmaker is a real beauty of a piece celebrating Ormskirk's clock-making history and incorporates elements of steampunk but has a real warmth to it.

 

Football murals continued to be in high demand. A trio of Tranmere Rovers legends (Johnny King, Les Parry and Danny Holmes) were given pride of place, in Woodchurch on the Wirral. Paul got to represent his fourth club, namely Marine AFC, when he painted a picture of club captain, Niall Cummins, on the outside of Rossett Park Stadium. Paul then returned to the Kop End bar to paint a second mural there, this time it was 5 legends representing LFC through different eras of post-war history - Ian Callaghan, Kenny Dalglish, John Barnes, Robbie Fowler and Virgil Van Dyke.

 

In May, Paul painted a tribute to the Birkenhead Cowboy, AKA folk singing legend, Charlie Landsborough, on the outside of North Birkenhead train station. This was unveiled to much fanfare and was given the seal of approval from Charlie himself.

 

The summer took him indoors (typical!) and a large 15m wide mural celebrating Doctor Who at Liverpool's World Museum. The mural focussed on the links between Liverpool and the Dr Who brand in recent seasons. It featured the Tardis, the Sontarans, and the Weeping Angels, set amid a Liverpool skyline and the museum itself. This was a real hit with all the Dr Who fans this one!

 

Paul continued to edge his geographical reach a tad further with his first mural in Ellesmere Port, Cat vs Dog, painted on the outside of LittleCroft Vets. There was also a street art mural celebrating the Queen's jubilee in Leasowe, but this one focussed on the local community rather than the Queen (who probably had enough tributes if we are honest).

 

Autumn saw a couple of musical murals, which, as a keen musician, is obviously right up Paul's alleyway. The first, at the Penny Lane Development Trust, depicted a young Paul McCartney and John Lennon as they would have looked during the days they could have been found loafing around Penny Lane. The second, in conjunction with BBC's National Album Day, celebrated debut albums of some of Merseyside's musical acts that are sometimes overlooked due to The Beatles' shadow. Located at 81 Renshaw record shop, a quartet of acts is formed by Elvis Costello, The Zutons, Yachts and The La's.

 

A major ambition was achieved in November when Paul was commissioned to paint a centrepiece mural for a new exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery. The exhibition, The Art of the Terraces, explored the impact of football fashions and fan culture on mainstream British culture. From the first day that Paul started professional painting, he dreamt of having his work displayed at the Walker. Fulfilling this ambition is something he is immensely proud of.

 

The final piece of the year celebrated Jessica Gadirova's Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the World Gymnastics Championships 2022. These were held in Liverpool and Paul was actually an Ambassador for the event, so it felt like a fitting way to conclude 2022.

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Paul's work goes from strength to strength.  The future will be exciting for him as he embarks on more and more high-profile pieces and ever larger scales. His prolific work rate ensures that this article will be out of date in just a few days!  To keep up to date with his work, follow him on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.

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2021 (click for 2021 video):

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Despite a difficult year with the shadow of coronavirus always looming in the background, Paul was able to achieve a rich diversity of artwork: 27 outdoor murals 13 interior murals 5 canvases 2 marathons 1 award 1 UK record.

 

2021 started well for Paul. Early in the year, he was shortlisted for and then ultimately won the Liverpool City Region Artist of the Year for 2020. The mural work came thick and fast.

 

In spring, Phase 2 of the New Ferry mural project kicked off which, when completed, meant that Paul now had 18 street art murals in the village of New Ferry, Wirral.

 

In May, Paul designed and painted the largest mural in Liverpool's city centre. An underwater baby on the side of Abbey Road Pub represented the rebirth of the city after the multiple Covid restrictions that had impacted many businesses in the city. Paul also announced that he had been made an Ambassador for Liverpool for the World Gymnastics Championships that will be held in Liverpool in November 2022. His peer ambassadors include Max Whitlock and Beth Tweddle.

 

The summer saw two key pieces: The Away Days trainers and Red Rum murals. The Aways Days mural was done for Tranmere Rovers FC on the side of Prenton Park. It was taken from the cult football film of the same name. The still was actually part of the movie's promotional material taken by renowned photographer, Johno Johnson. The Red Rum mural is actually Paul's third Red Rum piece, however, this was the first time Paul had ever been invited to display work in an art gallery, namely The Atkinson in Southport.

 

The stand-out piece of the year (and in all likelihood his career to date) kicked off in August. It took almost two months to complete and measured almost 1000 square metres in area. "Ainsley and Dale" are two huge sand lizards painted at Toad Hall in Ainsdale, Lancashire. During the two months, Paul had to break away for a few days to paint a tribute to the heroic Hillsborough campaigner, Anne Williams. This is one of his proudest pieces of work. Towards the end of the year, a real honour was bestowed on Paul when he was added to the Museum of Liverpool's "wall of fame". This is a photo wall of people who have been important to Liverpool's history and cultural impact.

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2020 (click for the 2020 video):

 

By 2020, Paul was well established and had never been more in demand, but the year started with a controversy.  A simple Tranmere Rovers coat of arms would bring a media storm to the Birkenhead suburb of Oxton.  The controversy was totally unexpected but fortunately turned out to benefit Paul massively, leading to much more demand for his work on the Wirral.  A huge artwork commission for Gallagher’s pub in Birkenhead quickly followed: a depiction of HMS Birkenhead – a piece which became Paul’s most popular Wirral artwork. 

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Paul began a partnership with Anfield Road Primary School and working with the art teacher on concepts for the school has led to some beautiful large-scale artworks for the kids such as Harry Potter Liverpool, Peter Rabbit, The Globe and a David Attenborough Tribute.   

 

Paul also painted a tribute to the late great Sir Ken Dodd on Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre.  The two murals were unveiled by Lady Anne Dodd to a large press gathering.  On the heels of those murals was Paul’s biggest mural to date: A huge 200 m2 tribute to Grand National hero, Red Rum.  Painted in Southport in association with Sefton Council, it was supposed to coincide with the 2020 Grand National.  And then….. Covid 19.

 

Lockdown came just as Paul was really beginning to gain momentum.  However, there was an unusual positive effect: demand for murals began to build up as people reassessed businesses and decor. So much so, that as soon as the lockdown lifted, there was a long list of commissions waiting to be painted.  The biggest of these was the New Ferry Project.  This was a scheme that consisted of 5 large murals and was part of a larger redevelopment of the area following the terrible explosion in 2017.  The Cows and Pigs murals formed the centrepiece and the whole project was so successful that the local council immediately commissioned a second phase.  The project received much media interest, including a slot on BBC North West Tonight.

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After that was his famous tribute to Liverpool FC past and present.  A piece sponsored by Revilo Properties depicted Jordan Henderson and Alan Hansen both lifting their respective league title trophies.  This was to be the first public LFC street art that Paul would paint.

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Paul's strong ties with Tranmere Rovers continued and three more murals would be painted before 2020 ended.  One of these would be a tribute to the vital work that TRFC and its supporters did for the community during the lockdown.  Another particularly poignant mural, was a portrait of the late, great Johnny King,  painted on the Johnny King stand and opened by his widow, 

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Paul had time to restore and repaint the famous Beatles Mural in Seaforth in 2020.  And he also was able to paint a commission piece for the University of Liverpool to be reprinted as a gift for the Year of 2020 graduates who were unfortunate in not being able to have a graduation ceremony (despite Boris et al partying throughout lockdown!).

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Another highlight was featuring on a slot on BBC Breakfast talking all about the positivity of street art.  Turns out Naga Munchetty is a big fan!

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