Master artist Buck Paulson doing live demonstration in Provo
Buck Paulson
A painting of Pete Rose Buck Paulson did. Paulson was a professional baseball player before becoming interested in painting.
When Buck Paulson, the man behind PBS’ long-running show “Painting with Paulson,” started painting he said it looked like a 3-year-old had done it.
These days, with dedication and practice, he’s become one of the “master artists” in the world. Paulson will be bringing his art and unique story to share at Masterpiece Arts Studio in Provo.
Paulson said he hopes to teach people a bit about how to paint and inspire them to try.
”My mantra would be that anybody can paint,” he said. “You can be taught to paint because I’ve proved it with the fact that I had no experience.”
Paulson was originally a professional baseball player before he studied physical education at Brigham Young University.
”There was plenty of baseball, but art was not part of my life until after I came back to Santa Barbara as a recreation supervisor and thought I’d like to try,” he said.
He went on to take lessons and train with Claude Buck and became a full-time painter in 1970.
Paulson will be painting a seascape in an hour during his demonstration, but most often he does workshops with people.
”With a demonstration I’ll do a lot of talking,” he said. “I’ll tell them many of my experiences and how I got into art and that sort of thing. It’s kind of an entertaining thing while you’re painting.”
An hour is a relatively short time for Paulson to complete a painting in, he said. He often spends many hours completing the paintings in his studio.
”The one I do at Sue’s place (Masterpiece Arts Studio) will be faster,” he said. “It’ll be on a dark canvas so you just add some light to that. It goes very quickly and people afterward will say, ‘Oh that didn’t take you very long.'”
Susan Tomlinson, owner of Masterpiece Arts Studio, said she actually grew up with Paulson in Santa Barbara and is very excited to have him do a demonstration.
”He does this technique of intensity with color and he really makes them come alive,” she said. “He gives it meaning in art and life and spiritual meaning.”
Beyond the Paulson’s technical skills, she said he’s very interesting to talk to.
”He’s a very uplifting person,” Tomlinson said. “People are drawn to him. He’s not just an artist.”
Paulson is the first in what Tomlinson hopes will be a series of demonstrations at her gallery. She said the goal is to create deeper connections with art in the community.
”I’m trying to help people connect with nature and how important it is to get away from technology and connect with nature, quietude,” she said. “It’s amazing how art can do that for you.”
Paulson said art has a power to connect people and create conversations.
”I absolutely love the communication with God that I can have through my art whether it is looking at a sunset or a landscape or animals or a person,” he said. “I hope art does that for people.”
The demonstration will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 9 at Masterpiece Arts Studio at 326 Stadium Ave. Please note that an earlier calendar listing for this in the Daily Herald mistakenly said the event would be at 5 p.m. Admission to the demonstration is free, but Tomlinson requests that people call her at (801) 227-9477 or email her at scjtomlinson@hotmail.com to RSVP.