The print collections
Fine Art Prints by Paul Sanders
In the whirlwind of the digital age, where images flit by our fingertips, there's something undeniably soothing about a carefully crafted black and white photograph.
Paul's work is a dance of light and shadow, an ode to the subtle poetry of a sun-dappled leaf, the whisper of wind through tall grass. His signature absence of colour deepens the emotions, inviting your own interpretation, your own connection. Paul Sanders' art prints capture this essence with a rare grace, inviting you to pause, to breathe, and to see the world anew.
THE FRAGILE BEAUTY COLLECTION
I have been a photographer all of my working life, it has been the only constant in my life. In a bid to help myself amidst grappling with poor mental health, I started to photograph things around my flat… all sorts of things, just to try and find beauty in the everyday.
Flowers naturally caught my eye - not because of their beauty, but because of how much they reminded me of myself, and my struggle with life. I would sit, just looking at the flowers… noticing their curves, lines, fragility and strength. They fascinated me.
I spent hours watching the flowers as they bloom, fade and die, entranced by their battle. Within each plant, I could see myself. I almost became the flower, or the flowers became me - I couldn’t tell where I ended and they began. I witnessed their struggle to give their best, and noticed the way they would continue to perform their dance for me even when I forgot to care for them.
The images that I share here are a personal narrative. Each one represents an awareness of my place in the world, originating as a series documenting the fragility I felt as I started a recovery from a nervous breakdown. They explore the way I became aware of my own emotions, vulnerabilities, strengths and growth through seeing the equivalence in flowers.
These images are deeply personal and miles away from the photographer I thought I ’should’ be but, came from a much deeper place than anything I had made before.
They are, after all, just flowers, but they are also me. American photographer Minor White said that ‘every image we make is a self portrait,’ and for me nothing has never been more true.
THE solace COLLECTION
In a world where we appear more connected than ever, we have become almost totally disconnected from the wider world. We are totally focussed on the small screen in our hand, obsessed by our own perceived popularity and that of our images, shared for likes and comments to boost our egos which take a battering on daily basis as we battle our way through each day.
The world we live is incredibly noisy. Everything seeks to distract us from what is truly important and real, by invading very spare moment we have with a virtual cacophony of demands and pressures.
I fell victim to this, becoming totally defined by my previous job at The Times. I made myself ill - very ill - giving my all to a machine that had ceased to fulfill my soul, yet strangely devoured every ounce of it. I lost my identity trying to keep everyone else in my life happy. Meetings, deadlines and a daily need to prove I was worthy of my job and place in life.
It took me a long time to realise that to be truly content, you need to stop, stand still, let the quietness of life and open spaces drown out the noise of the wider world. And it is in the quietness of my photography that I find calm, peace and tranquility.
But photography and its own chatter isn’t the idol I worship. For me, it is the experience of standing with the wind on my face, feeling the sunlight warm my body, taste the salt spray from the sea, breathe in the aroma of the land and feast on the changes of colour as the sun moves through the sky. The experience of being outdoors, feeling the spirituality of place and isolation are what drives my photography.
Due of the noise in my head, I seek calm through my work. The images I create are solely for me; I don’t take commissions, or conform to what others like. My photographs are taken in a specific emotional, spiritual and mental moment, a moment when I become totally a part of the place I am working. I’m completely present and awake to everything around me. This time of clarity is healing, the moment is complete solace.
