P.L. Wilkins ......... is the product of an old Virginia family. He grew up in two places. His early childhood was spent in suburban Chicago. When he was 14, his father, a convention industry executive, moved the family to Houston Texas. It is by no accident that southern and mid western cultures, have given the artist his sense of humor, and a desire to create.

Early artistic pursuits gave him some notable national recognition, as an award winning print maker of fine wood block prints. The artist has continued with this medium for decades.

"It's my Art Noir work, if you like."

" Studying the changes in shadows and light is a simple format, but can be very highly dramatic in a subject." Stark contrasts of black and white bring the viewer into a world of sharp shadows, contrasting light and texture. This immediately grabs the interest of the viewer.

Further studies in Art lead P.L.Wilkins to study Art and Design in Texas, at Kilgore College and the University of Houston. Influenced by his contemporaries, the times, music, and the poster art of the day, Wilkins, found himself pursuing a musical career in California. Living in Los Angeles, and for awhile, the Bay Area, he played in a rock n Roll band, under the name of Chip Wilkins. While in LA., he worked as a production artist for a needle point canvas company, and in the film animation industry, as a back ground artist.

Influenced by the simplicity of the media, and its cartoon like quality, the artist has incorporated some of these elements in a number of his conceptual paintings.

Returning to Texas, and living in Austin, he became infatuated with oriental art and the study of feng Shui. This lead him to become involved in the creation and manufacture of ornamental folding screens. Calling his screens "Empress Screens", he could then use his skills in structural form. The screens were colorful, stylistic, and hand painted on wood. Starting out with Asian motifs, he eventually ended up with more and more original designs and themes. Despite receiving commercial praise and positive reviews, this endeavor however, was not cost effective to produce, and eventually forced the artist to concentrate just on paintings.

Moving to Philadelphia in the late 1990s produced new interests: and exciting subjects to be inspired by. Seasonal, changes, old architecture, leafy neighborhoods, a Chinatown, the Skuykyl River, and Fairmount Park, all contributed to the ambiance and atmosphere that the artist had been searching for. A series of new paintings and explorations has resulted.

He recently has enjoyed some new found admirers and patrons, in his flights into impressionism. The artist has been participating in several Plein Air paint outs. One notably, in Rye New York, where his paintings have generated a renewed excitement and interest.

P. L. Wilkins, a multi stylist, has captivatingly explored painting forms from the Conceptual, to Abstract and Realism styles.

He currently resides in Philadelphia, where he maintains a studio and home gallery.