The arts, painting, poetry, literature, music were the content in Paul's life.

BIOGRAPHY

Paul Holt was born in Yorkshire, England in 1948 and lived for the last ten years in Ascona, Switzerland.

He first trained as a draftsman in engineering, then spent one year at art school, before training as a teacher of English and religious studies.

At the age of 25, he moved with his Swiss wife to continental Europe where he worked as an English teacher and studied in France, Germany and Italy. In his spare time, he devoted himself to the development of his painting. It gave him tremendous joy and satisfaction to paint in vibrant colours, and he had a never-ending fascination for new styles and themes to depict his love of life and beauty. Until 2025, he only painted for his own pleasure; but after his health began to fail, he decided to create his own website.

Throughout his whole life, he enjoyed travelling whenever possible; mostly to places offering a rich culture or beautiful sea or countryside. In all European countries he visited or lived in, he developed an appreciation for the local cuisine.

Paul was an avid reader of philosophical works, from the early Greeks to the modern classics. Due to his wide readings and experiences, he developed a deep faith in transcendence. He was also endowed with a great poetic soul and enjoyed writing poems. For poets, particularly from Europe and the US, but also from the East, Paul had a profound admiration and had accumulated over the years a vast number of poetry books and poets’ biographies. Paul sadly passed away in autumn 2025. Today, his wife preserves Paul’s legacy.

STATEMENT

The idea for a painting emerges in the head but is painted from the soul.

“Art should be a constant source of aesthetic enjoyment.” (Hans Hofmann)

“Art is the longing for God.” (Alexej von Jawlensky)

Paul used his drawing skills, feeling for colour, and his sense of composition in his attempt to express transcendence.

Great influences have been Medieval and Byzantine art, early Renaissance, Expressionism, Fauvism, and Zen painting.

And his greatest modern influence have been Wassily Kandinsky, Matisse and E.L. Kirchner.

Paul painted in oil, aquarell and gouache, also in Indian ink on Japanese paper. All the materials he used are of the highest quality, Rembrandt oil paint on fine cotton canvas or Canson oil painting paper; for aquarell and gouache he used Talens gouache and Windsor & Newton aquarell colours on Hahnemühle, Canson or Fabriano fine grain watercolour paper.

Middle-aged Paul Holt wearing a checkered shirt and a dark jacket.

Paul 2022