Paul Valentine is an artist from the United States who has been living in the Middle East for the last few years, in Qatar. Formerly an architect and designer, he graduated from the University of Tennessee in the USA with a degree in architecture. He has worked as a museum exhibit designer, and as an architectural designer in commercial and residential before switching to focus his full time on creating art. He has exhibited artwork and painted murals in Qatar, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, and the United States, as well as participated in a 9 month Artist in Residency at the FireStation Museum in Qatar. He has dedicated a significant portion of his life to exploring the natural world, having trekked over 10,000 kilometers of long-distance trails including walking across the US twice on the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, and the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand. The impact that sleeping under the stars for almost 2 years during these adventures has had on his work cannot be overstated. Seeing the first-hand effects that we are having on the world propels him to use his art to help inspire people to take better care of the beautiful and magical places we have all around us.