Paul Drought is an Australian artist and a current member of the Royal Queensland Art Society. He studied Fine Art, majoring in Painting and Sculpture, at the Queensland College of Art, Seven Hills, from 1978 to 1981.
Strongly influenced by the Australian landscape, Paul’s practice ranges from highly detailed studio works requiring sustained focus, to impressionistic plein air studies completed in situ over just a few hours. In recent years, plein air painting has become central to his practice, allowing him to respond directly to place, light and atmosphere.
Alongside his landscape work, Paul occasionally shifts into abstraction, embracing the freedom of expression this affords and finding it contributes to a more painterly approach across his broader practice.
Recently, Paul and fellow plein air artist Jason Hawkins held a successful two-person exhibition featuring plein air and studio works at Latrobe Art Space in Paddington, Brisbane.
Having spent many years working in television and media, Paul values variety in his creative output, believing it fosters fresh thinking. For him, painting is a deeply immersive process in which time dissolves and the world narrows to paint, canvas and brush.