Paul Boyle has been devoted to photography since the age of 14. While studying at the Glasgow School of Art (1969–73), he began processing and printing his own photographs, laying the foundation for a lifelong exploration of the medium. Trained to a high technical standard in both monochrome and colour chemical photography, Paul now works primarily in the digital realm—bringing the same meticulous craft to his current practice.
Hull Collage 04
Since 2009, Paul has developed his celebrated Hullscapes series, created after his retirement from teaching Art & Design. These works, regularly exhibited across Scotland, transform details of boat hulls in dry dock into poetic and evocative landscapes. At first glance, they appear as sweeping seascapes or coastal scenes, yet they are in fact fragments of paint, rust, and repair - abstract surfaces reimagined as lyrical visions of the sea.
Paul sees his photography as a form of printmaking, closer in spirit to screen printing, lithography, or etching than to traditional documentary photography. He composes carefully within the viewfinder, then develops each digital image with precision, ensuring archival quality on fine artists’ papers. The resulting prints carry both the truth of their subject and the atmosphere of a painting, inviting viewers to project their own memories and experiences into the image.
Hullscapes 193, 22, 278(ii), 204
The Hullscapes embody a sense of wabi-sabi: beauty found in imperfection, weathering, and repair. They reflect the idea that objects carry the imprint of their environment—the sea leaving its mark on each vessel. Paul’s goal is not to document the boats themselves, but to reveal their surfaces as landscapes of imagination, full of mood and resonance.
Hullscape 211
We regularly exhibit a selection of Paul's Work at The Found Gallery - Click here for current availability.
