Paul comes from a family of artists and has drawn and painted his whole life. After receiving an Associate of Arts degree from a local college in 1984, he accepted a job at the Smithsonian Institution doing taxidermy and model making. As a result of so much three-dimensional work in his job, in the 90’s, his own personal artwork gradually began to transform from painting and drawing into sculpture. Being an avid birder, waterfowl hunter, and taxidermist gives him constant anatomy and behavioral learning experiences that inspire both his museum work and his own sculpture. Paul retired from the Smithsonian in 2010 to concentrate on wildlife sculpture.
In 2023 Rhymer was named Birds in Art Master Wildlife Artist. He is a Fellow with the National Sculpture Society and a Distinguished Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists. His work has been exhibited in Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin (2008-2023); the Society of Animal Artists Annual Exhibition (2007-2023); the National Sculpture Society Annual Awards Exhibition (2006, ‘09, ‘10, ‘12, ‘14, ‘17, ‘22 and ‘23); and the Brookgreen Gardens Masters Exhibition (2013). He had a solo exhibition at the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art in 2010.
Among his many public art installations are, the Briscoe Western Art Museum; Smithsonian’s National Zoo; Denver Zoo; NatureWorks Monuments, Tulsa, Oklahoma; the City Park, Hagerstown, Maryland; Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, Maryland; Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; Shepard Park, Summerville, South Carolina; and B.I.R.D.S. Project, Summerville, South Carolina.