Paul Shain started sketching and painting after he retired from engineering. Born in California, Paul has lived in Houston off and on since he was in the first grade. He was educated as a chemical engineer at MIT and UC Berkeley. Like art, he sees engineering as a creative field in which he starts with a blank sheet of paper and creates a design. After retiring from the oil and gas industry, he enrolled in a basic drawing class. Before that class ended, he decided take a five-week (post-COVID) European vacation. He began by attending an urban sketching workshop in Provence. That is where he started painting. And then he was hooked!

Paul is fortunate to live near the Museum District in Houston. Thus, he has access to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and The Menil Collection among other museums. This allows him to view art from many eras, locations, and genres. His first significant exposure to art was his late aunt’s art collection. He is pleased to have a few pieces from that collection. He has visited many art museums. Yet, The Menil Collection's surrealist and contemporary paintings are special to him.

The first thing people notice about his art are the colors. He enjoys the work of the color field painters like Helen Frankenthaler and Morris Louis.