Paula Smithson is a UK based practising artist and printmaker living in Lancashire. She studied BA Hons Fine Art at the University of Central Lancashire where she specialised in printmaking, since graduating in 1999 she has exhibited nationally and internationally and has worked to commission. She also holds a Masters Degree in Illustration from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Alongside her creative practice she has been teaching further, higher and adult education since 1999 in formal educational establishments and in participatory settings, she currently holds the post of Lecturer in Printmaking and Illustration.
Her work is inspired by commedia de’lla arte and the carnivalesque and explores ideas around performance and spectatorship with a focus on circus and the psychological impact aerialists have on audience. She regularly attends the circus to draw during performances.
Smithson is a member of ArtLab Contemporary Printmaking Studio.
