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Born in South Africa in 1940, Paddy moved to Zimbabwe in 1961 where he farmed sugarcane in the then Rhodesian lowvelt. In 1970, encouraged by friends, he started painting landscapes in oil. A year later, he held his first one-man exhibition in Harare under a sheme to promote aspiring artists. The exhibition was sold out on the opening night.
In 1972 Paddy Starling gave up farming in the rugged Eastern Lowveld of Rhodesia and devoted himself full time to painting.
More than 30 years later, he is arguably one of South Africa's most popular and sought after landscape artists.
As a recent edition of a respected South African art magazine had stated, “ water is the endlessly intriguing focus for his landscapes, particularly the tranquil stretches of river beloved of fly fishermen. Looking at Paddy’s waterscapes you can almost smell the sweet, decaying scent of the river and glimpse the shadow of a trout in the clear brown water." Paddy says he finds the accurate rendition of water fascinating and challenging, not just painting it, but seeing through it, putting the riverbed, the reflections and the flowing movement onto the canvas, all resulting in super-realistic depictions. He personally visits and photographs every scene he intends to paint in order to capture the light, the atmosphere, the surroundings, and the “feel" of the location. This contributes to a Paddy Starling masterpiece every time he puts paint onto canvas.
His works are highly popular with fly fishermen all over the world and his paintings are represented in many galleries in South Africa and abroad. His more than thirty solo exhibitions sold out every time and his commissions range from past State Presidents of South Africa to national and international corporate clients, various prestige hotel groups and local as well as international private collectors.
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