My Story

I was born in Yorkshire, England and started teaching way back in the ’70’s. I soon became the Head of Art at a Grammar School, a post I held for a number of years, before moving to the senior management team of the same school. In 2000 I left teaching to explore new pastures, setting up my own arts business, ‘Paul Priestley Arts’ to provide art courses and interactive art events.

Paul Priestley Art

In 2008 I began running art workshops in schools. I came up with the idea of delivering the workshops as famous artists, such as Picasso, Monet, Warhol and others.

Within a few years demand for my art workshops exceeded my ability to supply them. As a consequence I started my YouTube Channels related to How to Draw and Paint and Art History videos.

Paul Priestley in his studio

My Philosophy

I believe that being an artist is a twofold process. It’s a combination of skills, techniques, creativity and the ability to see things in a way others often can’t.

Many people become obsessed with learning techniques, but that only takes you so far. You also need the passion and creativity to experiment and make mistakes.

Paul Priestley art and video studio

My Working Space.

My art studio started life as a cow shed, but after much renovation it is a wonderful working space.

Paul Priestley editing a video

Editing a Video

After filming comes the important task of editing the video for those wanting to watch and learn.

My YouTube Channels

During the past few years my two YouTube Channels
have generated a total of:

0
Videos
0K
Subscribers
0M
Views

Drawing and Painting Tutorials

Art History Videos

YouTube Testimonials

Drawing School

  • Omg these lessons are a god send I have been looking for this type of instruction for so long and the creator has such a great energy! Yay!
    John M – 18 November 2021
  • These tutorials are amazing! Thank you for your generous teaching and for making this so much fun!
    Gretchen Odegaard – 19 October 2021

Art History School

  • I always find your presentations informative and entertaining. I say this as a painter and writer.
    Lance Burris – 17th November 2021
  • Loved your retrospective, I have admired De Lempicka’s style from the very first time I saw one of famous paintings. Her intense colors remind me of Toffoli’s. Thank you for showing me so much of her art, and putting in context. Brilliant.
    Phil Chavanne – 13 November 2021