Schulenburg l Oil Paintings

In The Tide will Turn, Schulenburg
paints a cool seascape at sunrise.
The mostly horizontal scene and
patterns in the sky contrast with the
herringbone pattern of water and
sand on the beach and the strong
upright of the sailboat mast. The
yellow and orange sailboat, hit by
the light of the rising sun, punctuates
the soft overall blue atmosphere.

The Tide Will Turn, 2015
Oil on Canvas
36” x 48”
Private collection

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“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose
ourselves at the same time.”
—Thomas Merton

Dunes’ Edge, 2016
Oil on Canvas
36” x 48”

Private collection

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Catboat at Breakwater Beach, 2019
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

Private collection

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Catboat Sunset, 2014
Oil on Canvas
30” x 40”

Collection of Carol and Stephen Chafetz





Interiors

Schulenburg finds beauty
and intrigue in the way
light falls on walls, floors,
and furnishings. Within the
framework of a room, the
ever-changing light coming
through a window can offer a medley
of moods.

“An empty chair, a door to another room, or a
book, tell an incomplete tale, leaving room for
the viewer to complete the story. My paintings
are not about the objects in the rooms as much
as they are about capturing the light and the
feelings evoked.

“Sometimes I can find a perfect subject without
leaving the house.”

—Paul Schulenburg

A Room in France, 2016
Oil on Panel
16” x 12”
Private collection

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A Light in Port Clyde is a study in warm and
cool light: in this case, incandescent light
and cool window light, touching everyday
objects. Quick bravura marks of yellow, pink,
and purple capture the lamp’s radiance. The
fabric throw and pillows are created with
confident brushstrokes. Compositionally, the
lamp is placed off center, drawing one’s eye,
counterbalanced by the painting and furniture
beside it.

A Light in Port Clyde, 2007
Oil on Panel
16” x 12”

Private collection

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Bedroom at the Top of the Stairs, 2017
Oil on Canvas
16” x 12”

Private collection

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Tom’s Boathouse, 2008
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

Private collection

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Door to Peg’s Kitchen, 2007
Oil on Panel
16” x 12”

Private collection

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Green Room Yellow Room, 2012
Oil on Canvas
24” x 24”

Private collection

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In the Rose Room, 2012 The Hall Upstairs, 2019
Oil on Canvas Oil on Panel
24” x 24” 24” x 12”
Collection of Barry Dorn and Jan Smith
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hunter

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“Paul Schulenburg’s work is captivating in
the truest sense of the word. As soon as
one of his canvases is viewed, it is forever
remembered, treasured, and cherished. I
have an overwhelming desire to travel to his
landscapes, converse with his portrait subjects,
and sit quietly alongside his still-life tableaus.”
—Margaret Van Sciver, curator

Pears and Water Pitcher, 2015
Oil on Panel
18” x 14”

Private collection

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In the Extra Bedroom, 2010
Oil on Canvas
18” x 24”

Collection of Ginny Farber

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“Schulenburg’s capacity to seize light and
capture shadows is incomparable. His crisp,
clean lines and use of shading immediately
draw one into his paintings. He is a master
at illuminating landscapes as well as interiors
which welcome one into an intimate space
through a doorway, allowing the viewer a
glimpse of a moment of time, reclusive
and reflective.”
—Tom and Trish O’Connor, collectors

Cool Light in the Hall, 2016
Oil on Panel
12” x 9”

Private collection

124



Two towels hang on the back of a door
in White on White. With his expert use of
values, Schulenburg captures evidence of two
personalities. On the left we have a towel hung
neatly on a peg. To its right, a towel looms
larger across two pegs. They gently touch,
individual yet a matched pair. White on White
is a study in tonality, uncovering something
extraordinary in the mundane.

White on White, 2009
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

Collection of Carol and Stephen Chafetz

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Figurative Paintings

Schulenburg captures the
intimacy of interior settings
in this series. A languid figure,
often the artist’s wife, sits
in a chair, on a bed, or by a
window in a quiet moment—
an image that is relatable but would often
go unnoticed by others. There is the element
of portraiture without the literalness usually
associated with the genre. The artist captures
private situations permeated by soft light.
Although he hints at a narrative, he leaves
room for the viewer to invent it, echoing the
ambiguity of paintings by William McGregor
Paxton or Johannes Vermeer.

Backlit Figure, 2004
Oil on Panel
16” x 12”
Private collection

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Catnap, 2002
Oil on Canvas

30” x 24”

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Early Riser, 2005
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

Collection of Larry and Betty Schiffenhaus

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“Schulenburg’s paintings exhibit a
narrative quality that appeals to the
storyteller in all of us. Against their
fabric we are invited to devise our
own sequence of events, and the
invitation to do so is irresistible.”
—Robert Sabbag,
author of Snowblind

Dream of an Ocean View, 2000
Oil on Canvas
22” x 30”
Private collection

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Red Satin Robe, 2004
Oil on Canvas
18” x 24”

Private collection

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Blue Tile Bath, 2010
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

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Soft Light through Sheer Curtains, 2010
Oil on Canvas
30” x 24”

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. George Smith Woodman Pratt

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“Cultivate an ever continuous power of
observation. Wherever you are, be always ready
to make slight notes of postures, groups and
incidents. Store up in the mind...a continuous
stream of observations from which to make
selections later. Above all things get abroad,
see the sunlight and everything that is to
be seen.”
—John Singer Sargent

French Waitress, 2016
Oil on Canvas
24” x 18”

Private collection

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68th St. Apartment, 2015 Maeve, 2016
Oil on Canvas Oil on Canvas
30” x 30”
Private collection 24” x 18”
Private collection

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Free Parking, 2016
Oil on Canvas
36” x 36”
Collection of Gordon H. Bither

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In the City

The city poses unique
challenges as well as an
array of opportunities for an
artist. There is so much brick,
cement, and pavement. Then
something will jump out,
grabbing an observant person’s attention.
“Just as a trip to the beach can be refreshing,
going from a rural area to the city can jolt the
system and make you see the world through
fresh eyes. Sometimes I will see things I have
never seen before, things that go unnoticed by
hordes of people walking by every day. Stories
appear around every corner. “
—Paul Schulenburg

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SoHo Morning, 2019
Oil on Canvas
30” x 30”

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