Neil is a professional painter living and working in Bristol. He has exhibited his work in both the U.K and the U.S.A. His work can be described as photorealist while on closer inspection regaining a painterly look and texture to the canvas surface. The American landscape has been a regular source of inspiration while recent large scale paintings have focused on places of worship.
W&N: Describe your work and style
I’d describe the work as photorealist, but also I try to pull away from having a glossy finish so that from a distance it has a photorealist quality, but up close it’s much more abstract - lots of big blocks of colour.
You can view Neil's gallery here
W&N: Which artists do you find inspiring?
I would say my inspiration is definitely Edward Hopper for mood. A lot of the photorealists inspire me, so I like Richard Estes, Chuck Close and the photorealist artists for the technical side. I also like contemporary artists who are working now and share the same issues as me.
W&N: How did you first hear about Winsor & Newton’s Artists’ Acrylics?
Winsor & Newton contacted me from an Open Studio that we did back in Bristol. From the catalogue we produced for the show, Winsor & Newton got in touch because they knew the work was done in acrylics. They offered to help with the mediums, so we came in and tested them and yes, it’s been great.
W&N: What Artists’ Acrylics Mediums have you been using?
During the process of the painting I use the Matt Medium, just to keep the colours quite muted, because for all my work the colours will be very muted throughout. I use the Flow Improver to make a big base of colour for the larger paintings. That can take 3 months to do. I then use the Varnishes for the final product, before I frame them.
W&N: Have the Artists’ Acrylic mediums opened up new possibilities for you?
Before, I could never keep a base colour or keep a colour for as long as I have done on the larger pieces. So it would mean trying to mix up the same colour again, which restricts you to using just a base colour straight from the tube. With this, I’ve pretty much got the perfect colour and I know it’s going to last for the duration of the painting. A lot of mediums are quite milky when you use them and so you have to compensate for that in the colour. The Artist’s Acrylic mediums have been very clear throughout and so you’re quite confident using them knowing that the mediums are not going to affect your colour.
W&N: What do you like about the Artists’ Acrylics range?
It definitely helped bring the work on a lot, and if it makes sense, they add more weight to the actual paintings, more depth to the actual paints. They’ve been great.
