Dario Meets Paul Wilcockson - Key Feature

Paul Wilcockson L.M.P.A

Somewhere off the Coin road and deep in the campo, lies a picturesque low built dwelling situated snugly in a deep hollow, ensconced by small hills and fields, as if sheltering between two giant protective hands, which shield the house and its occupants from all real or imaginary dangers. Rincon Del Hinojal is a four hundred year old building that, I discovered later, has the friendly ghost of the original owner moving serenely around the house and its hinterland.

I was met by one of the occupants and two powerful black Labrador dogs that bounded towards me barking fiercely to check me out and test my nerve; their rapid approach, thankfully stopped in their tracks, by a call from their pack leader Paul Wilcockson. 

At first sight Paul is of medium height, ruggedly built, with dark longish hair, an engaging smile, penetrating eyes and the good looks of some popular English actors, who starred in romantic movies of heroic swashbuckling heroes; a woman in one hand and a sword in the other, as depicted by actor Oliver Tobias, or the 16th century Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini.

He calmed his dogs, welcomed me and led me to the entrance to his home that lies behind a small building where there is a sense of harmless chaos all around as if the house is a work in progress. From the blinding sun outside, he took me into the darkened interior and onto a narrow corridor with walls lined with pictures of his work. With a coffee placed in my hand by his attractive and talented partner Stephanie, Paul began to tell me something about his life and photography.

He was born in Barcelona and as a child he spoke in Spanish and when he returned to England he had to learn his parents’ mother tongue. He attended the prestigious Downside School, one of England’s most distinguished schools, situated at the foot of the Mendip Hills, 12 miles south of the City of Bath and in this Catholic co-educational boarding school, there he experienced discipline and respect at the benign hands of strict Benedictine monks.

Paul was expected on leaving college to join the ranks of traditional blue-collar professions. But fortunately for us, his intuitive mother granted Paul his wish to go to art school, training at the Wimbledon School of Art, Camberwell School of Art and Kingston University, where he found his metier and flourished. Her wise decision, Paul is thankful for. Later a series of successful exhibitions followed.

Though modest by nature, he took pride in showing me some of his paintings and hundreds of photos, which were stunning and original in ideas. His speciality is portraits of adults, children, weddings and events, though I saw other photos that were works of art. Paul explained to me about his ideas and education“Many intense years of studying all aspects of Art finally led me to photography. I have studied light with Rembrandt, composition with Mondrian, mood with Cézanne, colour with Degas, expression with Jackson Pollock, form with Picasso, the list goes on.” “I photograph the more important interpretation of beauty in a person, not the one that is merely skin-deep – which everyone has. We are all ‘photogenic’, it is simply a question of a change of attitude to one’s self.” Paul continued to explain.

“Modern photography has become very dynamic, and coupled with the immeasurable potential of programmes such as Photoshop, it offers exciting opportunities. The power of the photographic image continues to develope.” With that in mind, his next ambition is to have an exhibition of huge photos like posters.

I asked him why the all the surrounding buildings seemed incomplete? He replied “Dario you’re a painter. Do you paint and finish one corner of the canvass only? Or do you jump around all over the surface with your brush till it comes together? That is what I am doing with my buildings. It’s the same as painting, but takes much longer.”

He is positive about his work and enjoys his lifestyle out in the campo including the hard physical work it entails, and his only professional gripe is that some publications use his work and fail to acknowledge the photographer, when it’s their obligation to do so. Though practical, Paul still has a sense of idealism and recently volunteered to support me in the campaign for Marbella and the Costa del Sol by working with the www.marbellamarbella.es website and has helped me, using his considerable talents to get the message out about how lucky we are to be living here in this superb part of the world!

As I drove from the house along a bumpy road, looking in my rear mirror, I saw the figure of Paul in the distance, waving goodbye, as the two dogs chased after my car granting me the bonus of an nostalgic glimmer of an idyll, that some of us secretly dream of.

You can find out more about Paul Wilcockson L.M.P.A at www.weddingsandportraits.eu

www.keytomijascosta.com 

All extra Photos added to the article by courtesy of Paul Wilcockson L.M.P.A.