Which Came First? Painting

The subject matter of my painting is freedom....allowing the beautiful colors of the acrylics and inks, often combined with acrylic gel, to give a natural vitality and flowing feeling of joyful discovery.... Living in Florida along Sykes Creek gives me a never ending realm of luminous formations of clouds, sparkling water, and fantastically beautiful birds , just to mention a few catalysts to spark my imagination. I paint my large free form acrylic and gel paintings on the floor as Pollock did... using canvas as a base or Lexan plastic , and at times found objects. For my works on paper I combine acrylics and inks, and work on a table top height....the inks have a marvelous range of saturated colors to choose from...and the swiftness of drying adds to the excitement of unexpected accidents and surprises to happen...it is a joyful and exhilarating experience.... And that is what I hope will be the response of those who see my work ! Donald Kuspit has written of my work, " Clement Greenberg (who actually critiqued my work at Anthony Caro's Triangle workshop back in 1985) would probably classify Neal's work with that of Van Gogh and Soutine." Kuspit concludes, "Neal has found a way of extending modernist painting by extending the sense of the feelings it can expose ." There is so much hatred in the world today.... I want to share love...basically that is what will keep our world going forward...we need to protect people, wildlife and the planet... RESPECT ......a very forgotten word..... In 1987, my family and I were on a dive trip with Jean-Michel Cousteau...his message of how our oceans are being ruined by the plastics dumped into them inspired me...to do something about it.. I have done environmental jewelry using six packers, fishing lie and other plastics that clog our oceans.... still do!