Neil Dawson – As with many people, I had always loved art as a child and while growing up at school. I continued my formal artistic education at Central Saint Martins College in London and continue to learn on a daily basis in the studio. The Foundation Course was a very interesting and enjoyable year even though I struggled with some aspects of the course and, at the time, it put me off pursuing a career in art. I had enjoyed the freedom, spontaneity and escapism of painting and the way I could lose myself in the creative process. I did not know how to talk about my work and to an extent I did not want to – I would rather people make their own mind up and take what they want from my work rather than me telling them what they should be thinking and seeing. Discussing, dissecting and, to an extent, justifying what I was doing just seem alien and troubling to me.

After the spell at art college I went on do a degree in economics and a job in banking and I didn’t pick up a paint brush for many years.

Reading newspapers and seeing images of faraway cities on TV instilled a passion for travel, which in turn became a spring board to creating his stunning artworks. Experiencing new cultures, surroundings and events, he photographed madly and widely and returned home to create amazing and vibrant international cityscapes which had become part of his own life experience. In addition to London these cities include Edinburgh, Paris, New York, Sydney and Venice. Painting in oil, the moods of his work changes from vibrant and dramatic to calm and serene as days unfold into night.  Neil Dawson