Pictures by Neil Shawcross RUA RHA
![]() ![]() One of Ireland’s most significant and distinctive painters, Shawcross has made an international reputation in the genres of portraiture and still life. Accomplished in watercolours and in oils, he is both a masterly draughtsman and a spectacular colourist. He revels in exploring combinations of complementary hues and sensual contrasts of great intensity and drama. Matisse is sometimes suggested as an influence on his work and it is easy to see why. In all his work, Shawcross deliberately reveals the act of painting. Splashes, stains and broadly painted borders, frames within a frame, emphasise that these are painted representations by showing how they are created. This respect for the integrity of the painted surface is shared with his friend and Ulster contemporary, Basil Blackshaw. It is natural that one of Ulster’s most inspiring artist-tutors for over 40 years would show a fascination with the mechanics of painting itself. Retiring his post at University of Ulster in 2004 to devote his energies entirely to painting, Shawcross has undertaken portraits, still life and nudes in a series of enormous, exuberant canvases to great critical and popular acclaim.
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