Noel studied illustration at Brighton University and the Royal College of Art in the early 1990s. He embarked on a successful career as an illustrator before concentrating on full-time painting in 1999.
Primarily narrative in nature, Noel’s paintings depict the youth and street life of metropolitan cities. Whether in Café’s in Cuba or Paris he focuses on the sense of excitement and vitality common to both. In his larger set pieces he builds a tension between the protagonists that draws in the viewer, engaging one with the unfolding story on the canvas. This involvement with the subject lends his work a distinct cine-matic quality that is emphasized by his bold, bravura brush strokes and heightened chiaroscuro. His habit of painting from life, often in one or two sittings, lends the work an immediacy that further builds the overall dramatic effect.
In contrast his single figure studies have a contemplative, intimate atmosphere. Each work is a master class in conveying his model’s physicality, whether the sinewy strength of a stevedore or the vulnerability of a female nude. Noel’s paintings are regularly exhibited throughout the United Kingdom and North America.
