"To create something is just expressing the fact that you are alive. Art is a spiritual thing. It's the expression of a human being. I think a human being is like an iceberg. The physical you see is only ten percent of it the rest is spiritual." -Paul Parsons, 1979
From 1949-56, Parsons attended the Newfoundland Academy of Art, the first art school in Newfoundland. It was owned and operated by his sister Helen and her husband, Reginald Shepherd. Parsons then moved to London, England, where he studied for a year at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.
On his return to Newfoundland, in the mid-1960s, he worked for the Newfoundland Government Planning Board and produced his well-loved, illustrated map of Newfoundland. During the late 1960s, Parsons opened the Art Shop Gallery and later established the St. John's Art School.
Paul Parsons was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, in 1925. Parsons' father was poet R.A. Parsons, and his sister, Helen Parsons Shepherd, is a distinguished portrait painter. Parsons has become well-known for his watercolours and oil paintings, as well as for his poetry.
From 1949-56, Parsons attended the Newfoundland Academy of Art, the first art school in Newfoundland. It was owned and operated by his sister Helen and her husband, Reginald Shepherd. Parsons then moved to London, England, where he studied for a year at the Central School of Arts and Crafts.
On his return to Newfoundland, in the mid-1960s, he worked for the Newfoundland Government Planning Board and produced his well-loved, illustrated map of Newfoundland. During the late 1960s, Parsons opened the Art Shop Gallery and later established the St. John's Art School.
Parsons experimented with various media, but in the 1980s he began to focus exclusively on watercolours of nature scenes and studies of people engaged in everyday activities, usually painted on location and often combined with his poetry.
His work has been exhibited in commercial and public galleries, including the exhibition Paul Parsons: A Retrospective, organized by Memorial University Art Gallery in 1983. His work has been repeatedly recognized by the annual provincial Arts and Letters Competition. Parsons' artwork is part of private and public collections including that of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
His work has been exhibited in commercial and public galleries, including the exhibition Paul Parsons: A Retrospective, organized by Memorial University Art Gallery in 1983. His work has been repeatedly recognized by the annual provincial Arts and Letters Competition. Parsons' artwork is part of private and public collections including that of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
These Days Mr. Parsons can be found painting contently at Tim Horton's or McDonalds in Manuels, CBS. He packs his paints and his passion for life into the basket of his bicycle and rides there each day to sit and paint the people and things he sees around him.
I have sat and talked with him on several occasions and he is an incredibly bright and talented man, but beyond that, he is truly a remarkable human being. He is a warm spirit and a kind heart and if by chance you see him in one of these locations, I urge you to introduce yourself and ask to see his paintings. He is a testament to the talent of this great province and he should know that we are proud to call him one of our own.
Thank you Paul for allowing me to photograph you, and for not feeling the need to acknowledge my camera.
-Reide
