ABOUT

Paul Leith is a British illustrator, artist and graduate from The Royal College of Art.
Pauls work covers decades of colourful creativity; producing murals, felt artworks, sketches and commercial illustration.
His experience is reflected in his high profile client list which includes Royal Mail, Penguin Books, The Sunday Times, The Body Shop, WHSmiths and Virgin Trains to name a few.
Paul is currently working on a variety of creative projects and is based in Carlisle, Cumbria.
If you would like to work with Paul Leith please get in touch lydialeith@gmail.com
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” I first encountered Paul Leith’s work when he was a post graduate student at the Royal College of Art. His is an unusual talent which manages to convey atmospheres of retro art along with a personal voice. I don’t think I have ever seen anything quite like it and I still admire it now in its more recent manifestations. ”
Quentin Blake • Illustrator & Pauls former teacher at the RCA.
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“For me his work was an inspiration. He made his own visual identity, however he hit a popular nerve...”
Professor Geoff Grandfield • Illustrator and Course Director for BA Illustration Animation at Kingston University.
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“Paul’s distinctive and wistful illustrations reflected a newer age, more Ravilious than Rockwell but modern, cut loose from the explanatory stuff we had grown up with. They combined daily activity with an atmospheric isolation, something about the mottled planes of pink and lemon and grey. Figures adrift, even in a crowd. He pioneered a detachment prevalent in newspapers to this day. ”
Humphrey Ocean • RA Artist.
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“Paul’s work was so cutting edge, he was very brave, in a world of airbrush realism he went completely out on a limb, early days colour pencil.  I have a huge regard and respect for Paul, he was the ultimate professional to work with, he pulled the rabbit out of the hat every time. Paul Leith, summed up, a gentle man of great talent and quiet humour, a professional to work with and an inspirational talent.”
Jacqui Figgis • Pauls former agent from Sharp Practice
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“I have a couple of framed small, simple maps that he did for John Tennant at The Sunday Times Magazine, for another travel story on drives through France. I remember Paul wandering into the office wearing his leather jacket and either wearing or carrying his old-fashioned motorbike helmet, looking a bit lost. He stayed for no more than 15 minutes, picked up a couple of French road maps from John and disappeared off to France. We weren’t at all sure whether we’d ever see him again. We were doing a Men’s Fashion Special in about 1986 and I wanted it to look really different from anything that might have appeared in Arena, Vogue Hommes, etc. One of the features was about beachwear – shorts, sunhats and short-sleeved shirts – and I commissioned Paul to produce three, or possibly four, full-bleed, consecutive double-page spread illustrations for it. They were some of the most colourful and lively fashion pages The Sunday Times Magazine ever published.”
Pedro Silmon • Former Sunday Times Art Director

 

Paul Leith artist on a bike Talkin Tarn Carlisle Cumbria
Paul Leith photographed outside the Talkin Tarn Bird Observatory. 

CLIENTS INCLUDE:

MURALS:

  • TULLIE HOUSE MUSEUM SECRET GARDEN
  • SULTAN INDIAN RESTAURANT, KESWICK 
  • HARDWICK CIRCUS, CARLISLE DULUX PAINT
  • HAMMONDS POND, CARLISLE COUNCIL
  • TALKIN TARN, BIRD OBSERVATORY
  • CARLISLE TRAIN STATION, VIRGIN TRAINS
  • SOHO BRASSERIE
  • NEXT, HEAD OFFICE

EDITORIAL & PUBLISHING:

  • TIMES
  • GUARDIAN
  • RADIO TIMES
  • BOSTON GLOBE
  • ROLLING STONE
  • NEW YORK TIMES
  • ECONOMIST
  • SUNDAY TIMES
  • OBSERVER
  • INDEPENDENT
  • ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW
  • VOGUE
  • HONEY
  • COSMOPOLITAN
  • ELLE
  • COUNTRY LIFE
  • FINANCIAL TIMES
  • T.E.S.
  • PENGUIN BOOKS
  • PAN BOOKS
  • PLUTO PRESS
  • FABER&FABER
  • VICTOR GOLLANCZ
  • MACMILLAN PUBLISHING
  • BEASLEY

PACKAGING, ADVERTISING & PRINT:

  • VAUXHALL
  • SAINSBURY
  • MUSICSALES
  • B.T.
  • BRITISH RAIL
  • BOOTS
  • SAINSBURYS
  • SAFEWAY
  • ASDA
  • CADBURYS
  • HSBC
  • BODY SHOP
  • ROYAL MAIL
  • COSTAINS
  • SINGAPORE AIRLINES
  • WH SMITHS
  • BRITISH AIRWAYS
  • OASIS SHOP
  • LIBERTYS

Exhibitions:
The Social, 5 Little Portland St, London. 2016
Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery, Carlisle, Cumbria. 2017
Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Cumbria. 2018

Publications:
50 Years of Illustration, by Lawrence Zeegen & Caroline Roberts, Laurence King Publishing.
Paul Leith Portrait