Paul Liptrot
- Paul’s Story -
I’ve always been shaped by movement across landscapes, disciplines, and ways of seeing. My story is one of curiosity, connection, and learning to understand the world by looking closely at the places, people, and ideas that have shaped me.
Me in my fetching safari suit school uniform in South Africa
I grew up in South Africa, surrounded by vast landscapes and a sense of expansiveness that shaped me long before I had words for it. The land there still speaks to my heart - its scale, its contrasts, its boldness. I think that’s why the Scottish Highlands and Orkney draw me in so deeply now; they echo that early feeling of standing inside a world much larger than myself. Travelling continues to fascinate me. New places keep me thinking, questioning, and trying to understand the relationships between people, land, and experience.
My education was anything but linear. I studied engineering, geography, environmental science, fine art, and most recently creative writing for wellbeing. Each discipline opens a different way of seeing: the precision of physics, the patterns of human geography, the deep time of geology, the emotional resonance of art. Together, they shaped me into an interdisciplinary thinker who is curious about how things fit physically, emotionally, and socially.
After university, I moved to London and worked in the not‑for‑profit sector. Over time, I realised I was increasingly drawn to how organisations communicated their purpose visually. That curiosity grew until I took short courses in Visual Thinking at the London College of Printing (as it was then), which completely shifted my perspective. They revealed a new way of understanding ideas, people, and the world, one that felt both intuitive and transformative.
Leaving London marked another turning point. I worked as a graphic designer for several years, but eventually felt the pull to go deeper - to understand creativity not just as a tool but as a way of thinking. That led me to begin a degree in Creative Practice at Manchester Metropolitan University. It was a challenging and transformative time, pushing me through barriers of my own making.
Gradually, through experimentation and reflection, I began to understand who “art me” really was. Completing my MFA in Fine Art at Nottingham Trent University in 2023 solidified that shift and gave me the confidence to recognise myself as an artist.
Creativity had always been present in my life, but once I began actively making, it helped me make sense of who I was. South Africa taught me that the world is expansive. My studies taught me that knowledge is interconnected. London taught me that creativity can be a way of thinking. And my practice now brings all of this together - a desire to understand, to connect, and to create spaces where others can sense something of themselves in return.