Art has been Paul Goodnight's saving grace in his recovery from his traumatic experience in Viet Nam when he lost his ability to speak from seeing the horrors of war. Though some thought he had lost his mind, he knew he hadn't and began to communicate with his drawings of the horrors of war. With the regaining of his voice, he enrolled in Vesper George School of Art and eventually earned a Bachelor's Degree from Massachusetts College of Art in 1976.

Goodnight has developed his own unique aesthetic philosophy to document the humanity of Black people around the world. He often incorporates African themes and symbols to provide depths of history and culture. He has traveled extensively, living among the people of Russia, China, Haiti, Nicaragua and Brazil. In his work, Goodnight creates univeral themes seen through diverse cultural lenses.