Neil Mawdsley: Profile The odd thing is, I like loads of stuff youngsters like ie pop concerts, techno stuff.. In Sept 2015 I was lucky enough to see the Banksy Dismaland exhibition in Weston -Super- Mare. It was raw, thought provoking, cutting edge art at its best. Perhaps I have some of this angry artist in me coming out over the years, in more thought provoking work. Yet most of my paintings are traditional, searching for beauty, majesty and a positive feeling to life. Early life. I was born in a Lancashire Mill town. After becoming a schoolteacher I moved to Plymouth. Landscapes and seascapes in the areas around Plymouth and North Cornwall are inspirational, and the many moods of the sea never cease to amaze me. That said, I experiment endlessly with many types of media and techniques. After many years of experimentation my paintings are now more in demand, but my output is slower and my style has changed. I paint more in mixed media, especially acrylics which I find matches more accurately my way of thinking. I often like to work with a palette knife on canvas. I still love watercolour painting, but struggle with the mindset of logical progression which is often essential. As an artist I have often tried to create eye catching beauty as this is what often sells, but at times I have also been moved to paint deeper subjects that have a social or environmental message. These paintings come under the heading of Issues or my Diary. I have kept a diary and illustrated journal since the 60’s. Church life has played an important role and forged genuine friendships. Exhibitions include Plymouth Council House, Debenhams, Saltash Waterfront Sculpture group, Karensa Gallery Padstow, Pal Mall, Royal Opera House Arcade, London and Drawn To The Valley exhibitions and many more. After teaching watercolours for many years at various local colleges and privately, I decided to retire from teaching completely to concentrate on my painting. My Ashtorre class is still running well, with leadership from within the group. Likewise my demonstrations to South-West art groups has also finished as I concentrate on my own work. I am now slowly developing step-by-step watercolour worksheets for the Internet on Etsy. Some years ago I became interested in shipwrecks and created an illustrated poster: Shipwrecks of Plymouth Sound and Shipwrecks around Looe and Polperro was my second poster and took me over two years to complete, with loads of research involved. I could rattle on for longer, but you have probably had enough by now. 2020 and 2021 have been crazy years with the worldwide pandemic. I have been working on ‘Lockdown Paintings’ in this dark time. We all hope for better days to come. Recently my wife and I survived covid infection, but it caught us out even after 2 Oxford jabs! trying to get back to some sort of normal in 2022.

Soot picture 10yrs.

Photo: Prysten House Painting for the U.S. Navy

Presenting a painting to BBC Spotlight Presenter Carol Madge at the College of Further Education, Plymouth.