Join Neal Greig as he talks about his background, what motivates him and how each of his colourful artworks is influenced by both landscape and creative flow.
Summary
Neal Greig shares his artistic journey and the development of his distinctive painting style. He recalls being encouraged by a good art teacher during his school years and having a supportive group of peers who shared his interest in visiting exhibitions.
His formal education began at Edinburgh College, which he describes as a significant milestone. Neal is an academician of the Royal Ulster Academy, an honor he compares to being selected for a team he wanted to play for, achieved through exhibiting in annual exhibitions and being nominated by peers.
While Neal's family didn't have a strong artistic tradition, he mentions his grandfather, a ship's captain, who used to draw ships with him, planting an early creative seed.
Neal describes his painting style as having evolved through problem-solving and experimentation. He frequently works on location, which presents unique challenges that have shaped his approach. His technique balances analytical observation with loose, playful execution, and he often uses unconventional tools beyond traditional brushes to apply paint.
Oil paint is Neal's medium of choice, as he appreciates its richness, malleability, and the immersive experience it provides. He values the "wet into wet" technique and the time-based aspects of working with oils.
When painting outdoors, Neal approaches it as research, seeking to investigate and explore space rather than simply replicating objects. He often begins with the furthest part of a composition and works his way forward, creating a sense of depth and exploration through the landscape.
Neal is particularly interested in the concept of "creative flow" and the importance of approaching each painting with intent and the right mindset. He draws inspiration from traditional painters like Rembrandt and Turner, appreciating their painterly qualities.
He explains that his approach has evolved over time, gaining confidence with his materials similar to a musician mastering an instrument. Neal's process has become increasingly instinctive and adaptable, which he compares to jazz improvisation.
TRANSCRIPT
Hi there, I'm Neal Greig, and I'm delighted to be showing at the Graystone Gallery in the exhibition "Palettes and Perspectives."
Well, the journey really got going when I had a good art teacher at school, and I had a nice group of contemporaries and we became really quite interested in the journey together and going to exhibitions. I had some good teachers and had a teacher who was an artist himself as well. That was really quite inspiring to begin with. And then after that, I suppose I got into Edinburgh College, which was really quite a big thing for me at the time.
I'm an academician of the Royal Ulster Academy. I was delighted about that. It's a wee bit like getting on a team that you want to play for. In order to qualify for that, you had to exhibit in the annual exhibition several times, and then you had to get nominated, and then you went forward to election afterwards.
I was particularly interested in painting. I suppose it wasn't too big a deal of a thing in my family, although my grandfather was a ship's captain and he used to draw little ships with me, so there was something there in that.
The style has evolved in a way that has responded to solving problems. I like to be quite experimental and I work on location quite a bit. It can be quite challenging, but the style evolved in response to finding solutions to the problems that arise when you work on location and you're trying to get as much information down on the canvas or on the board in this case. It's like collecting information. Quite analytical, but then quite loose and playful at the same time. In response to making marks and textures and things like that, I find different ways of applying the paint. I'm not just using brushes, but you might find me in paint shops and places like that or kitchen departments of shops finding dish brushes or just different ways or tools that I can push the things around.
For me, the medium of choice really is oil paint, and I like that because there's a kind of immersion when I go to these locations, and I like a place that I can resonate with. I really want to make this a fully immersive experience and in a sense the oil paint gives me that richness and substance. I have this breadth of dialogue that I can call upon in response. But also there's a time-based aspect to making paintings. I like that oil paint stays wet and malleable and that wet into wet technique with oil paints.
When I go to the outside locations, I feel like that's a research aspect. I'm looking for a subject. Sometimes it's not about painting the objects, it's about investigating the space in a way. That sense of exploration about the piece is initially what I want to try and convey. Sometimes I would look for the furthest away part of the composition and then draw the composition towards me. I like that sense of looking through the landscape and exploring the textures and exploring the lights.
I'm quite interested in this concept of creative flow. There's this mark-making process and you have to come at it with intent. When you go out to a location, you have to get in the right kind of mindset, and you're very resolved to come away with an outcome. In the first place that requires a little bit of research and where you want which composition you want to work with. And often, when you go out into the landscape, there's so many variables, but you end up looking at one subject, there's many possibilities. That's an interesting aspect.
I love painting. There's a line of tradition, artists who I like, particularly Rembrandt and Turner and the painterly artists. I would say there's so many of them who could be a long list of people there. But I love Rembrandt, particularly.
It's been a bit of a journey, has changed over the years, and I suppose as the journey's evolved, I think I get more confidence with the materials. It's like maybe a musician playing a violin or something, but I like to think that there's that confidence that I bring and that creative flow that I'm interested in. I would say that has influenced the way I work. You have to be quite adaptable and not too fixed, I suppose, it's a bit like jazz or something like that.
There's possibilities and I think it becomes very instinctive and that instinctive quality has developed and been more refined as I've progressed, I think.
I was trying to get this sense of that misty light. And then this lovely color of the bracken also. Now there's also an aspect of this painting, I've got these kind of greeny gray tones quite muted and then this explosion of this bright orange, against those great tones. It was quite an autumnal kind of day and I was really struck by the place and really, that sense of resonance, that inspiration happens.
