Neil Pittaway

About



OVERVIEW

As a child in the early 1970s,  I started drawing the world around me, as well as ideas from my imagination. My early subjects included castles, people, flowers, and architecture - many of which have remained important to me to this day.

I started exhibiting in competitions and exhibitions  at a very young age, this included a BBC Blue Peter dinosaur competition  where I won a Blue Peter badge in 1979.




 ARTIST STATEMENT 

My works reflect ideas from East and Western sources and perspectives such as Anglo-European heritage, transatlantic connections, Asian landscapes, gothic revival architecture, urbanness, satire, illustration and narrative. My work incorporates and explores these identities through direct and indirect observation creating complex and seemingly agoraphobic, perspective spaces; a labyrinth, which reflects the built and natural environments and echoes the monumental histories that make up our collective European and International identities, our heritage.




METHOD OF WORKING

My drawings, paintings and prints are developed from extensive research and sketches produced from direct and indirect observation. I use many different skills, methods, techniques and processes to create richly layered tapestries on the pictures’ surfaces. My drawings and etchings employ a detailed network of line, bitten deep into copper plate or drawn using traditional dip pen and ink whilst his paintings employ more spontaneous yet complex layered marks drawing on the luminous qualities of the paint’s pigments. Everywhere I travel I work directly from the subject using sketchbooks to record a journey; in recent years this has included Africa , the Middle East, Europe and trekking  extensively in the Himalayas. These records are then used directly and indirectly to create finished works that capture the essences of time and place.




SELECTED BIOGRAPHY

I am a British artist born in Yorkshire in 1973. I studied at the Royal Academy Schools in London, as well as Bradford University, Huddersfield University, the University of Seville in Spain, and the Cheltenham School of Art. I am a member of the New English Club (NEAC), (where I currently serve on the committee as the clubs Archivist), the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS), the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE), and the Leeds Fine Artists (LFA). I am also an associate member of The Alpine Club in London and an alumni graduate member of the Royal Academy Schools, London.

I have won many prizes for my work. These include the British Institution Prizes for both drawing and printmaking, awarded by the Royal Academy of Arts in London, The Ashmolean Museum Vivien Leigh Bequest Printmaking Prize, The  Dover Street Arts Club Excellence in Drawing Award in Mayfair, London. These are just a few of the many awards I have received for my Art works.

I have exhibited my work in numerous group exhibitions throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. These venues have included prestigious institutions such as:

  • The Royal Albert Hall, London (where my work was featured in their first-ever calendar sold in their shop)
  • Waterstones, Piccadilly, London
  • Royal Academy of Arts, London
  • Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, UK
  • Christie's, Mayfair, London
  • Chris Beetles Gallery, St. James's, Pall Mall, London
  • Barber Institute of Art, Birmingham
  • Blossom Street Gallery, York, UK
  • Leeds City Art Gallery, UK
  • Linden Hall Studio, Deal, Kent, UK
  • York City Art Gallery, UK
  • Ferens Art Gallery, Hull, UK
  • Scarborough Art Gallery, UK
  • Chatsworth House, Derbyshire, UK
  • Victoria Art Gallery, Bath Spa, UK
  • British Council Gallery, New Delhi, India
  • National Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
  • Heritage Malta, Valletta, Malta
  • Fabiano Museum, Italy
  • Centro Modigliani, Florence, Italy
  • Museum of Modern Art, Nairobi, Kenya
  • Mall Galleries, The Mall, London 
  • St. David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales, UK
  • The Penn State University, USA
  • Carrolton Cultural Arts Centre, Georgia, USA

In addition, I exhibit annually at the Mall Galleries on The Mall in central London, as well as throughout the year at the Bankside Gallery (next to Tate Modern)

Please visit the Exhibitions/News page on this site for details on where you can currently see my work on public display .




SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

I have had numerous solo exhibitions throughout the UK, including shows at The Alpine Club in central London, Arts Mill in Hebden Bridge, Burlington Fine Art in Piccadilly, London, The Cooper Art Gallery in Barnsley, King's Lynn Arts Centre, Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax, Shine Arts in Leeds, and The Mansion House Galleries at South Hill Park Arts Centre in Bracknell.




MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND INSTITUTIONS  

My works are held in the following collections:

Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford
Alpine Club, London

Arts Club, Mayfair, London
Art House, Wakefield, Yorkshire, UK
Bradford School of Art, Bradford College, Yorkshire, UK
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Guildhall Art Library, Corporation of London, City of London
Guy's Hospital, London

The D.H. Lawrence Birthplace and Museum, Eastwood, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK 

Headquarters Officers Mess Corps of The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers Officers Mess and REME Institution, The Prince Philip Baracks, Lyneham, Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK 

Heritage Malta Collection, Valletta, Malta

Indian Institute of Contemporary Art, Mumbai, India
St. Paul's Cathedral Library, London
Royal Collection, London
Royal Air Force, UK
Royal Watercolour Society Diploma Collection, Bankside Gallery, London
University of Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, UK
Victoria and Albert Museum, London


In addition, my works are included in many private collections, such as those belonging to HRH Prince Michael of Kent, actor Brendan Coyle, and antiques expert and TV presenter Mark Hill. My art can also be found in other private collections throughout the UK, France, Germany, Spain, the USA, Canada, and Australia.




FILM TELEVISION AND ONLINE  

2020 Online Interview with New English Art Club Published by the NEAC online.

2016 The Art of Travel the Tour Du Mont Blanc In Paintings, Published online by Exodus Travels 

2015 Eastern Daily Press, Norfolk, UK, Article for King’s Lynn Arts Centre Solo Exhibition

2011 Artists at Eden, D.V.D, Artist and Film, London

2011 Neil Pittaway BBC Interview for 'European Journeys and other Worlds', Exhibition, BBC Radio Norfolk, Broadcast January 2011

2005 The Artist and BBC Radio 4, Sound and Vision, Listed online on BBC Radio 4 

2002 Contributor to 'Serious Pleasure', Centro Modigliani Exhibition Film, Florence, Italy, Broadcast by Italian Regional Television, Tuscany, Italy

2001 Contributor to the Great Artists series, Tim Marlow, Channel 5 Television, U.K. 




SELECTED PUBLICATIONS  

I have also been commissioned to create works for many individuals and organisations including illustrations for an Anthology of London in Poetry and Prose, edited by the poet and writer Anna Adams for Enitharmon Press, London. Drawings for London in poetry and Prose, 21.5 cm x 14 cm x 1cm in depth, Edited by Anna Adams, First published in 2002 by Enitharmon Press, London 

Pathways in Time, Paintings Drawings and Prints Published by Neil Pittaway through Blurb.co.uk

First Published in 2019 by Neil Pittaway through blurb.co.uk for the occasion of his Solo Exhibition (12th January to 6th April 2019 at The Cooper Gallery, Church Street,  Barnsley, South Yorkshire S07 2AH, UK 

A Journey in Line Published by Neil Pittaway through Blurb.co.uk

Visual Histories, Published by Neil Pittaway through Blurb.co.uk

Print Rebels, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers

Published by Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, 2018 

Watercolour Secrets Royal Watercolour Society, Published by A & C Black Visual, 2018 

The Watercolour Expert Royal Watercolour Society, Published Internationally in 2004 by Cassell Illustrated.

Royal Watercolour Society, The Watercolour Masters Then and Now

Published in 2006 Internationally by Cassell Illustrated. 

Printmakers the directory Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Published internationally by A & C Black Visual, 2006.

Spanning the Thames, Published in London, 2008.

A Year in the Life of the Royal Albert Hall, Royal Watercolour Society, published in 2011 to accompany the exhibition, which was held at the Royal Albert Hall, London.



SELECTED PUBLISHED ARTICLES 

2001   Ambit 164, Longitude Etching, Published by Ambit 164, UK

2001   The London Connection, Printmaking Today Magazine, Cello Press, Oxfordshire, UK

2005   Artists notebook, Trafalgar Anniversary Article, Illustration Magazine, UK

2010   The Poetry Magazine, image published with an article on the Poet Louis McNeice, The Poetry Magazine, UK

2010   An Eye to the Past, Exhibition review article, Printmaking Today Magazine, Cello Press, Oxfordshire, UK




LINKS 

Links to Neil's works in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London:
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O86750/italy-in-britain-print-pittaway-neil/
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O87173/britannia-square-print-pittaway-neil/

The Ashmolean Museum, Oxford,  department of Western Art hold several pieces of Neil's work you can view these by appointment by contacting the department by visiting the link: https://www.ashmolean.org/western-art-print-room

View Neil's work by appointment at the  Guildhall Art Library, Corporation of London, City of London: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/history-and-heritage/guildhall-library

LINKS TO OTHER PLACES WHERE YOU CAN VIEW MY WORKS

Bankside Gallery, London: https://www.banksidegallery.com/artists/139-neil-pittaway-rws-re/works/

Mall Galleries, London: https://www.mallgalleries.org.uk/artist/neil-pittaway-neac-re-rws

New English Art Club (NEAC): https://www.newenglishartclub.co.uk/artists/92-neil-pittaway/works/

Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) https://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/artists/94-neil-pittaway/works/

Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE) https://www.re-printmakers.com/artists/111-neil-pittaway-rws-re/works/

Leeds Fine Artists (LFA) https://leedsfineartists.co.uk/yorkshire/category/neil-pittaway/

Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Academy  Schools, London  https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/name/neil-pittaway

Feel free to contact me regarding any of my work, exhibitions and  courses I teach  by sending a message through the contact page on this site or alternatively you can reach me on:  +44(0)7507904846

For a more extensive CV please download this PDF version