Hand made with love.

Where did it start?

Ever since I was very young I loved drawing, especially birds of prey.  The beauty of the feathers, the colours and the power of the wings grabbed my attention.  Nature is amazing, if you look at it closely.  Much of my inspiration comes from nature, I enjoy walking on the South Downs where frequent visitors are buzzards and sometimes the odd kite.  

All I wanted to do when I ‘grew up’ was to be an artist, a sculptor.  Following my passion, especially in the creative world was difficult.  Teachers would often say ‘you won’t make any money’ and ‘best stick to working in a factory’.  There is nothing wrong with working in a factory, but if you have a desire to create, this is not the right environment to be in.

School was difficult for me.  Academically I struggled due to my dyslexia, however I gained a place at Winchester School of Art, where I received my first degree in fine art.  From there, I was lucky enough to receive a scholarship to study at masters level at the Royal Academy Schools from the Henry Moore Foundation and Time Out magazine.  This was a dream come true.  There wasn’t anyone from my small village in West Sussex that went here to study.  Here I spent three fantastic years studying in an environment where we were encouraged to be creative, think outside the box and immerse ourselves in our work.  While I was there I won numerous awards including the Compton Good Craftsmanship Prize.

The Royal Academy is where I honed my skills in traditional techniques and processes.  From ceramics,  Bronze casting, painting, drawing, sculpting and more industrial skills such as welding and metal work. Learning from the top practitioners in the field such as Sir Anthony Caro, RA and Professor Phillip King OBE, PRA who was my tutor at the Royal Academy and Anthony Gormley, RA who I was lucky enough to work for a period of time - I feel that I am well prepared to offer high quality art works for you.

Organically grown

Turning a creative passion into a business is tough. Tough for many reasons, too many reasons to even explain to you. After spending three years at the Royal Academy, I thought I would be able to set up ‘shop’ and start selling my work. After all I was being told I was a great artist and sculptor by my tutors and my peers, what could go wrong?

‘Ahoy’

I was living in a bubble. A world were I was surrounded by artists who understood my work and where I was in a cushioned environment , away from the commercial world. When I flew the comfort of the Schools, I felt alone and vulnerable. It felt as if I was on the edge of a cliff, about to plunge into the unknown.

Studying technique and art history was absolutely what I needed, however, all of us at the Schools needed lessons in business studies to enable us to make it in the creative world and not to just keep our skills as a hobby. Making art work, I could do, making it into a business I couldn’t. I didn’t have the skills. So should I even start a business? What if it goes wrong? What if no one likes my work? Where do I start?

During my time at the Royal Academy I had the chance to design and make some amazing sculptures - could they be saleable in the real world?

My first son was born in 2006, it was a hot Spring. My wife was on maternity leave and we had very little money. I remember had made some ceramic blue butterflies for the Henfield Open Gardens event. I had some clay and embossed my grandmothers lace table cloth into it to make a pattern, then gave them a blue glaze. I remember that I had made 20-30 of them in varying sizes. They were sold out within 2 days. This was a turning point. At this point I knew there was something in what I was making…..but was it ‘art’?

I continued to create clay butterflies from my garage/studio at home. I then started to hand cut metal and make small flowers. Soon the garage was far too small for my creations and I moved into my first studio, since then I have moved a further two times! Selling at various craft shows in Sussex were my outlet and I soon gained a small following of loyal customers.

From that day on I have had a very close relationship with my customers. This I have kept to this day.

The daisy flower came from a mother who lost her daughter when she was a baby and the poppy came from a customer who wanted some remembrance flowers. My work is very personal and is hand made at every stage.

From the design in my sketchbook, to the maquettes in clay, to the paintwork, the firing and the packaging - everything is hand made at each stage of every process.

I understand that customers are looking for something special, something meaningful. Here at Paul Cox Sculpture you can be assured that each and every piece that you purchase is made with love.

Shaping metal

Daisy awaiting painting

Powder coating

Into the oven