PAUL CURTIS ARTWORK
About
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….
2023 (click for the 2023 video):
· 18 outdoor murals
· 17 interior murals
· 2 statues
· 2 marathons (1 PB (Manchester 3:04:20 🥳))
2023 was a good year with quite a few big'uns, some interesting projects and opportunities to paint beyond Merseyside in different places around the UK.
The year kicked off with some indoor murals that allowed for some shelter from the January weather! A 2-part mural for Scruffy Murphy's bar (in association with Jack Daniel's) capturing the deep south and paying tribute to BB King and Johnny Cash. This was followed by a huge 18 m-long mural at Anfield Road Primary School depicting the famous Rainhill Trials (famously won by Stephenson's Rocket). The mural was painted in the style of Lowry, with nods to some of his most famous work and containing 1072 stick men!
Indoor work continued into February with a large exaggerated depiction of an Audi A3 rally car at Magnet Autos in Bootle. It was then back to Anfield Road Primary to paint another 18m epic. This time it was a New York theme, celebrating its importance as a dock but in 1930s imagery - including an impressive King Kong.
Springtime saw Paul Curtis Artwork become Paul Curtis Artwork LTD, perhaps not the most interesting news for some, but a big milestone for Paul. He also created a floral mural for the cocktail terrace at Mercure Atlantic Tower Hotel, overlooking The Liver Building. He also ended up down in Ipswich to paint a mural of Bobby Robson leading Ipswich Town to FA Cup victory in 1978. He also did a great historical mural for Pleasant Street School: a Roman stood before the Colosseum (this added to the previous murals: The Great Fire of London, Egypt and Mersey Ferry which were all painted in 2022).
As summer approached, Liverpool was gearing up for the Eurovision Song Contest. The University of Liverpool commissioned Paul to paint a street art piece to give hope for world peace. The mural, consisting of the globe, doves and a heart in hands, takes pride of place on the campus. This was followed by a major LFC mural, celebrating the captain of the women's team, Missy Bo Kearns, holding aloft the FA Women’s Super League Trophy in 2022.
June saw Paul returning to Scruffy Murphy to paint another pair of murals. This time it was Elvis Presley and woman boxer, Katie Taylor who were being given the tribute treatment. There was also a first for Paul as he was invited to do a live painting by the Mallorcan arts collective, Literatua Expandida, at the Innside Melia Hotel. A large-scale masterpiece was created in less than 4-hours!
July saw Paul head to Bradford City FC for a collaboration to paint a huge cock (the mascot for Bradford is a male chicken 😁). This massive bantam stands proudly outside the stadium and is a real impact piece! He went straight to another football club, this time Ashville F.C. in Wallasey. The founder, John Dennett, MBE, was celebrated in a large-scale piece on the side of the clubhouse.
August was quite emotional. Paul lost his good friend, Ben Harrison. Ben was a good man who helped Paul in his goal to become an Artist. Ben organised 19 different Tranmere Rovers murals for Paul to paint. He will be sadly missed by many. There was also a mural for Olivia Pratt-Korbel (the 9-year-old girl tragically shot dead by a masked gunman) at her School, St Margaret Mary's. There was an unusually large mural on a bridge at the Tawd Valley in Skelmersdale. The underwater fish theme meant that Paul had to paint whilst standing in a river!
September was a good month seeing Paul return to Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle. Paul painted a striking mural of Liverpool poet, Levi Tefari. He also took a trip to Basildon to paint some number statues with 4 other artists from all over the UK, in a project that sought to raise awareness about MPN10 (a blood cancer disease).
The good projects continued into October, with Paul painting 2 street art murals that gained a lot of media interest. The first was a a dual portrait of Katerina Johnson-Thompson (KJT) & Jack Hunter-Spivey, both Olympians and world champions in their respective sports, painted at St Marks in Halewood. The second was a portrait of Liverpool FC's legendary manager, Bill Shankly, painted in collaboration with Bill's granddaughter and Hotel Tia. Paul was also awarded an Alumni Award by the University of Liverpool for the positive impact he has made to the city.
Two more important murals would follow before the year was out. One was a massive street art piece, called, Skills for Life, in Wallasey in association with the UK Scouts Association. The second was a street art portrait of Paul McCartney near Abbey Road bar in Liverpool.
2022 (click for the 2022 video):
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The lockdown came just as Paul was 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.
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.
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,
Paul had time to restore and repaint the famous Beatles Mural in Seaforth in 2020. 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!).
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!
2019 (click for the 2019 video):
By 2019, less than 18 months after starting as an artist, Paul was now firmly established. The Liverpool Echo had included him in a list of the 21 people who make Merseyside happy. Indeed, his media presence was growing fast. His work appeared regularly on regional and national TV, such as Sky Sports, The One Show and The Voice as well as in the national press. A big factor in this was the Royal visit to Liverpool for which Paul received a phone call from Clarence House. Whilst Prince Charles was visiting the Albert Dock, HRH Camilla Parker-Bowles had been keen to get a photo with the Liver Bird Wings. This iconic photo made every national newspaper and UK TV news report the following day.
A key partnership with Tranmere Rovers was developed in 2019. Paul painted a large street art piece of Tranmere legends, Ian Muir and Ray Mathias. Many more TRFC murals have followed as the partnership has proven successful for all involved.
Probably the most popular street art piece of that year for Paul was the Abbey Road scene. A collaboration with The Beatles Story Museum, the mural marked the 50th anniversary of the Abbey Road album. The mural was hugely popular and remains so for those wanting to be a Beatle for a few moments!
Paul had now been named as 4th Top Street Artist in the North of the UK - quite an achievement for someone who had only been doing it for 2 years!
One of the sad stories of 2019 was the burning down of Club 53 in Liverpool. The owners have been big supporters of Paul’s work and continue to commission him for their other locations (namely Abbey Road and Harrison’s (which has a host of Paul’s murals). There were 5 of Paul’s murals in Club 53 that were lost in the blaze, but obviously, this is nothing compared to the loss that the owners experienced.
Other notable murals in 2019 include:
Audrey Hepburn Mural in Southport
A collaboration with Scouse Bird
2018 (click for the 2018 video):
2018 was to be the year of building on the initial success. Keen to show there was more to come and that his work was not a one-hit-wonder (he had already adopted a “no more wings” policy!), Paul selected work that allowed him to show an increased range of artwork and styles.
Some highlights from 2018 include:
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Working with Everton FC hired to create 2 murals around Goodison Park
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The large Welsh Streets sign is a favourite of news presenter, Huw Edwards
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The Michael Jackson Moonwalker Mural, for which Paul was almost arrested. This mural received the seal of approval from the Jackson estate.
Paul came to prominence with his very first piece of street art, "For All Liverpool's Liver Birds" (aka "The Liver Bird Wings"). This piece was an instant success with queues of people eager to have the picture taken with the wings, forcing the council to temporarily close the road. The piece has since become part of Liverpool's fabric and continues to attract tourists to Jamaica Street to become a Liver Bird themselves. Many famous people have done just that, including HRH Camilla Parker-Bowles, Jamie Carragher, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Bianca Walkden. In 2018, the mural was the 19th most geotagged place in the UK, nestled between Stone Henge and Abbey Road on the list.
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