Paul Richmond

About me:

My website: www.paulrichmondstudio.com

My blog: www.paulrichmondstudio.blogspot.com

My Etsy shop (Giclee Prints): www.paulypants.etsy.com

Hi, welcome to PaulysWorld -- where everything’s bedazzled with pink sparkly fabulousness. Behind the sugar-coating, I’m a fine artist/illustrator with a lot to say (and express) through my work, albeit with a penchant for the occasional flourish. My personal life has also had its share of dramatic moments, though my sporadic “over-the-topness” is perfectly balanced by the more level-headed approach of my partner Dennis, the love of my life. We live with our two whippet babies, Seamus and Una, in the Short North arts district of Columbus, Ohio. It’s a short trek from my childhood stomping ground in Grove City though a far cry from the life I ever could have imagined for myself.

I was raised in a conservative, Roman Catholic home with my younger sister who was as eager to pass off her Barbie dolls to me as I was to unload my dump trucks on her. Moving beyond Barbie, my true career aspiration was to grow up and be either Snow White or Dolly Parton. My parents were hoping for law school or possibly medicine. We met in the middle and I ended up in art school. This choice came as no surprise to my childhood mentor, Linda Regula, a local artist with a flair for the big and colorful, who had taken me under her vibrant wing and helped my artistic aspirations blossom.

I remained closeted until after I graduated college. One day as I worked with my mural painting partner and best friend Melissa, I revealed to her the unsurprising news that I was gay. By this point, I had attended several Cher farewell concerts, not to mention more than my share of Broadway musicals. I also drove a lavendar car. Still, with a small town background and a strong connection to family, I struggled to veer from my path of denial. Fortunately, the road signs became all too clear, and I began to slowly embrace my homo ways.

Coming out also greatly impacted my artwork. I had begun my art school career with my sights on the big shiny mecca of Disney Animation Studios. I had even won an award from the National Alliance for Excellence the summer before, and received an IBM Pro Workstation and 3D Studio Max software as the prize. Unfortunately, one semester into animation classes and those dreams fell by the wayside. Apparently, being an animator was different from being a Disney princess, and I was not suited for the technical requirements of the former.

I shifted to illustration because there was less math involved, and I rather enjoyed the thought of creating childrens’ books one day. Of course, in my mind I would collaborate with celebrity authors and see my name on the New York Times Bestsellers List immediately. As it turns out, there’s a bit more involved. Still, after graduating I did illustrate eight children’s books for a small, local publishing company (books which you’ve probably not heard of, and shouldn’t expect to). I also designed the tour t-shirt for one of my childhood idols, country diva Trisha Yearwood, all while owning a full-time mural painting business with Melissa Forman, an incredibly talented artist who is finally starting to receive the national recognition she deserves. I couldn’t be happier for her!

But I digress – back to me. When I began exploring my sexuality, I found many healing benefits to examining and detailing this process through painting. I had no intention of ever sharing these paintings with anyone. They were for me. And perhaps, at least the part of me that’s prone to delusions of grandeur would have liked to think, someday they might be discovered long after I was gone and reveal my secret story. Maybe there would even be a Lifetime movie of the week in there somewhere! But for the time, they would be un-stretched and stored beneath my bed.

That all changed when Melissa stumbled upon them and convinced me to enter them in a local juried art exhibition. They were accepted into the show and I discovered how wonderful it is to share work that is personal and honest, especially with those who can relate. It’s also fun to buy new clothes for art openings, so I painted more.

My first solo show was at the Ohio Art League Gallery in March 2007, and it was aptly titled “Ins and Outs.” By then, I was fully out and proud, and also happily engaged to the man of my dreams. We both bought new outfits for that opening! I have also become involved with a wonderful organization called Kaleidoscope, which is a youth center for GLBTQ teens in Columbus. We hosted a benefit for them in the gallery during my exhibit, and I created a special painting to be auctioned that night. I continue to work with them, and it’s been inspiring to witness incredible bravery and strength from such young people who often have nowhere else to turn.

I continue to explore and express my own personal narrative as it evolves and leads me in unpredictable, and sometimes wacky directions – including the Tammy Faye Memorial Celebration in Palm Springs hosted by her manager. At the event, I unveiled my portrait of the late televangelist (whose advocacy for the GLBTQ community and passion for insane make-up application both inspired me immensely) to guests including Larry King, Cloris Leachman, Charlene Tilton, and Ron Jeremy.

Despite the rejection of my earliest aspirations to be a Disney princess or a country diva, I find myself at a point in my life where few things seem impossible. I want to be a generous partner, a prolific and honest artist, a great friend, and remain open to whatever opportunities come my way. Oh, and that includes the Lifetime movie of the week….

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