Even when Kethley was very young, his gift emerged while illustrating WW II aircraft in dog fight positions. At age 11, his mother enrolled him in private art classes. Within two years, his artistic talent was so apparent that his teacher invited him to join her college drawing classes.

After earning a degree in marketing in 1974, Kethley immediately headed for Denver, Colorado, where he worked in various sales and marketing positions for 15 years and painted during his spare time.

"The passion for painting hit me in 1979," he recalls. "I worked hard at it on weekends and began doing paintings that told stories. By 1987, I had made contacts resulting in some major sales and was in a local gallery."

Kethley opened his own studio in Evergreen, Colorado, in 1989 after quitting his full-time job to concentrate on his art. While there, he also worked on commissions, taught lessons, and sold art supplies. He eventually relocated to Buena Vista, Colorado, an area he says "provides me with every western setting imaginable—from snow-covered peaks to rivers, and even rocky desert terrain."

Although Kethley’s basic interest is the historical West, he has also painted more modern settings, which originate from his own personal adventures.

"I like to depict man interacting with the environment—campfires, cowboys, Native Americans, wildlife, and fishermen. I want to get viewers involved in the interaction with the people, to tell a story. But I also give them the freedom to finish the story."

Since 1993, Kethley has organized and taught various painting workshops in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. A local television station featured his work. In 1994, one of his paintings was included in the Top 200 of the Arts for the Parks competition.

More recently, he has shown work in the prestigious Cheyenne Frontier Days Art Show and Sale, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and the Night of Artists show in San Antonio, Texas. In March of 2007, Paul’s painting entitled 'Through the Slots' was purchased as a permanent addition to the Pearce Museum of Western Art located in Corsicana, Texas.

Kethley and his wife, Lisa, live in Buena Vista, Colorado. He now seeks to blend and depict his love of God and family with his love of the West.