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.
No doubt about it, I was from a
working class background in a
Lancashire Mill town. After becoming
a teacher I moved to Plymouth.
Landscapes and seascapes in the areas around
Plymouth and North Cornwall are inspirational, where
the many moods of the sea never ceases to amaze. 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. At the moment I 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.
Photo: Prysten House Painting for U.S. Navy (bottom of
page)
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 last two classes are still running well, with leadership from within the groups
at the Ashtorre Centre, Saltash and at St Budeaux Library. 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!
Soot picture 10yrs.