Ronda in Southern Spain

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Paul Cowan, Sculptor

Paul Cowan is a Scotsman and a sculptor in metals from Montejaque.

Paul’s GalleryContact PaulRonda Sculpture Gallery

Paul Cowan in Benaojan

Paul Cowan in Benaojan

I am an artist and have been for quite some time. The realisation of this state of being came to me just before I signed up for a foundation art course back in 1990.

I had always seen myself as a craftsman until that point, having made many things up until then including sculptures, furniture and photographs. I have been producing work for around 25 years now. I’m self taught in every discipline that I use, my skills honed by constant development and experimentation.

It was purely incidental that I gained an honours degree in fine art. I had the confidence in myself and my work long before that and the degree added little. I made a conscious decision that I was an artist after finishing the course and that I would not follow my contemporaries into a “normal” job. In this I have succeeded.

I have exhibited both here and abroad and have work in both the public realm and private collections around the world. I enjoy what I do immensely and this comes through in the work I do, whether for gallery shows or in commissions. I fill sketchbooks with ideas from inside my head but tend to rarely use them.

Instead I just make things. I start with the materials and things just appear from my hands, I use no squares, levels or measures, if they look right, then they are right, in the process they evolve and gain a life of their own, I just help them come alive. But nothing is ever a mistake. I enjoy the feel of whatever materials I use, no matter the source, and every single piece of my work is entirely mine from start to finish.

I sculpt in a huge variety of materials including stone, wood, steel, copper, glass and bronze when I get the chance. I use the same materials for furniture as well as upholstery, I create stonework, both drystone and mortared, paint, print and also produce hand printed photographs.

I am also the co-founder of the Ronda Sculpture Gallery, which opened in July 2009, creating a permanent display of my work and a showcase for local and international sculpture in Andalucía.

I’m a happy man when I am working and this means that the client or customer is always happy too. I never do anything I don’t want to in my life and this is reflected in the quality of my creations. I’m passionate about my art and know that people who own my work are just as passionate about what they get from me. But above all I want my work to be enjoyed and used and loved and never be taken too seriously.

Real work for real people.

Ronda Sculpture Gallery

Paul has recently begun placing some of his pieces in the gardens of Molino 4 Paradas Hotel and Restaurant at Estacion de Benaojan. The Ronda Sculpture Gallery is open to the public free of charge, although the hotel terrace is a beautiful location for a quiet drink and tapas while admiring the many sculptures on display.

Contact Paul Cowan

Paul can be contacted for private commissions.

Address: 5 Calle Miguel de Manara, Montejaque, Malaga 29360
Tel: +34 635 831 966

Would you like to purchase one of Paul’s pieces? Paul is a regular exhibitor in Ronda’s monthly Artesanía market held the first sunday of every month, and can often be found next to Ronda’s Puente Nuevo. Click to send an email to Paul: aberartman@yahoo.co.uk

Gallery of Paul’s Sculptures

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  1. Your work is really good mate. Keep it up

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Ronda

Ronda is one of Spain's most visited cities for good reason, our little city is very compact, in fact from arriving in Ronda, to seeing the Real Maestranza bullring, the Puente Nuevo, the many beautiful churches, our museums, or the wonderful coffee shops and tapas bars, we have it all within a short 30 minute walk.

Of course, most visitors need at least 2 or 3 days to see everything because a lot can be packed into your time in Ronda. Stay in one of Ronda’s many excellent hotels, with a choice of restaurant covering tapas in a local bar, menu del dia, or a la carte menu.

A walking tour of Ronda is a pleasant and enjoyable way to spend a lazy few hours, almost everything you could want to see in Ronda is no more than 200-300 metres from the new bridge.

Ronda Today is the Serranía de Ronda's only daily English language news source, our we take pride in providing Ronda News as it happens.

Stay in Ronda

As one of the most visited cities in Spain, Ronda has a fantastic selection of hotels, hostels, guesthouses, and self-catered accommodation guaranteed to suit all tastes.

Whether it's just one night, or several weeks that you need we can help you find somewhere to rest your weary bones while you're in the city of dreams - La Ciudad Soñada.

Join great names like Orson Welles, Earnest Hemingway, Rainer Rilke, James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges, Madonna, or Jamie Oliver who have enjoyed their time in Ronda.

Visitors who plan to make Ronda their new home should check out our property section, where we talk about some of the gotchas that can occur. Forewarned is forearmed.

Why Visit Ronda

A small city perched on a seemingly precarious platform of rock, Ronda is in fact an impregnable fortress only defeated in battle through trickery, and during the reconquest with modern (for the era) rock blasting cannon.

The mountains and valleys of the Serranía de Ronda are home to a tough breed of people, yet in Ronda these people are refined, some are gentry, some gypsies, others are just common folk, but all proudly call themselves Rondeños.

These days the population of Ronda is a little over 35,000 souls; big enough to offer all the essential services, but not big enough to suffer traffic problems or big city woes.

Rondeños have played a pivotal role in shaping Andalucía and modern Spain, and the city has hosted some of the great names of politics, the arts, education, and played her role in military events.

An hour from the Costa del Sol, Ronda is too far away to be heavily influenced by events on the coast, yet still close enough to benefit from the economic strength that tourism brings to Southern Spain. At a height of 723m, Ronda has a cooler year round temperature than the coast, making life in Ronda altogether more agreeable than other Andalucían cities.

Serranía de Ronda

Ronda is the biggest city in northern Malaga province, and the closest city to many of the smaller villages in Cadiz province, making Ronda an ideal base for exploring the Serrania.

Within a few kilometres of Ronda are some of the most visited Pueblos Blancos, the famous white villages of Andalucia, Setenil de las Bodegas, Grazalema, Gaucín, Juzcar, Benalauria, Montejaque, Teba, Cortes de la Frontera, Igualeja, the list goes on...

As well, Ronda is close to three natural parques, the Grazalema park, Alcornocales park, and the Sierra de las Nieves park. The Serranía is also home to pre-historic cave paintings at Benaojan, Neolithic dolmens at Montecorto, and of course, the Roman city of Acinipo.

The countryside of the Serranía is described as unique, in fact universally important. Many endemic species make their home here, including the pre ice age Pinsapa pine tree, and numerous orchids only found on our mountains.