How Paul Bailey made me see paintings as a cold cup of coffee

Let me tell you a story. Not long ago, I was sitting with my iPad and staring at a half-finished digital disaster. You know, the kind that is neither abstract enough to be "deep" nor realistic enough to resemble anything other than a strange, color-smeared cardboard box. I was desperate for inspiration. So, while I was scrolling through social media (because nothing says "creative process" like endless scrolling), I stumbled upon the art of Paul Bailey.

What met me were his landscapes – paintings so simple, yet so charged with emotions. There was something about the way he painted the sea crashing against the rocks, the empty horizon, and the small details that told big stories. It felt like drinking a cold cup of coffee – initially bitter, but then unexpectedly invigorating. I felt an urge to try something new.

The search for the essential
Bailey is a master of simplification. He takes landscapes and strips them down to just the essence. A mountain formation is reduced to a silhouette, a sea to a few simple brush strokes, and the sky to a muted, almost monochrome background. But here's the trick: even though the details are few, they are not absent. You might see a small wave crest crashing against a distant cliff – and that's all it takes to bring the entire painting to life.

This inspired me. I realized that in my own digital paintings, I had a tendency to fill the canvas with too much—multiple layers, strong contrasts, chaotic elements competing for attention. When I tried Bailey's approach, my paintings began to breathe. It's not about doing less just for the sake of it – it's about giving the viewer space to feel and interpret.

Colors that tell stories
Paul Bailey's use of color is a lesson in subtlety. He often uses earth tones, muted blues, and grays – as if the entire landscape is shrouded in mist or just washed by rain. I used to believe that strong colors were the key to making paintings pop, but Bailey's palette taught me something else: calm can be just as powerful.

His colors have an underlying melancholy, but they also convey a sense of reflection and peace. I started experimenting on my iPad by limiting the palette. Instead of ten different shades of blue and green, I used only four colors. The result? A painting that felt more balanced – and more atmospheric. Try this yourself: limit the palette and focus on how light and shadow work together to create a story.

The small details that carry great stories
One of Bailey's greatest strengths is how he uses small details to anchor an entire work. In many of his landscape paintings, you might only see a simple wave crest crashing against some rocks, a solitary mountain crag, or the hint of a small path disappearing into the horizon. It's not much, but it's enough for the viewer to fill the void with their own stories.

For me, this was an eye-opener. I used to think that the more details I added to a painting, the stronger the story would be. But Bailey reminded me that the most interesting stories are the ones that leave something to the imagination. Now I try to incorporate small, yet meaningful details into my digital landscapes – details that suggest a story without fully explaining it.

Eyes like windows
While Bailey may be best known for his landscapes, he has also started painting portraits. And here it is the eyes that truly capture attention. Even in abstract portraits, where the faces are simplified to the point of being almost unrecognizable, the eyes possess a strange richness of detail. They look at you with an intensity that makes you wonder what they know – or what they are hiding.
This is a contrast that many artists can learn from: how to balance the abstract with the concrete to create tension. When I now paint portraits digitally, I try to focus on one element – maybe the eyes, maybe the mouth – and let the rest of the face be more subdued. It's a nice way to create balance and depth without over-explaining.

Take control of your own style
If you feel stuck in front of your iPad or easel, searching for your artistic identity, Paul Bailey's work can be a source of new inspiration. His way of simplifying, combined with subtle details and muted colors, is a reminder that the power of art often lies in the unsaid.

So the next time you find yourself with a disaster of a picture in front of you, ask yourself: What is the essence of what I am trying to convey? How can I simplify without losing the story? And what small details can I add to give the viewer room to explore?

Paul Bailey showed me that the simple can often be the most powerful. And he can inspire you to see your art in a completely new way.

If you want to see some of his pictures, I don't have permission to reproduce them, but you can find pictures of him at these links.
https://paulbaileyart.co.uk/