William Neal

Last updated

William Neal (born 1947) is an English artist painter and graphic designer who achieved international recognition after working for the progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. During the last 10 years, and alongside his watercolour work, William has produced a series of large abstract paintings complemented by musical compositions written specially for the works by himself and other collaborators. Successful shows featuring these series of paintings were held in the Gracefield Arts Centre in Dumfries in 2007, and the Mill on the Fleet in Gatehouse of Fleet in 2009.

Contents

Biography

Born in Guildford in 1947, Neal was brought up in the village of Bramley, Surrey. He gained a diploma in art and design at the Guildford School of Art (now the University for the Creative Arts), graduating in 1967. [1] Following a diverse career in the graphic arts, he worked for the BBC, Pitman Publishing and C.C.S. Associates, a leading design group in London’s West End. It was from C.C.S. that he met Greg Lake and went on to work for Emerson, Lake & Palmer, producing cover designs for the two million-selling albums Tarkus and Pictures at an Exhibition . [2] The original paintings were hung at Hammersmith Town Hall, and photographed by the late Keith Morris, a former graduate with Neal from the Guildford Art school. [3] His work was also used by other rock bands such as Stone the Crows, Audience, The Mick Abrahams Band, the Upsetters and numerous reggae bands for Trojan Records. [4]

From 1971, he concentrated on painting full-time, holding many exhibitions until he met Stefan Knapp in 1978. This proved to be a significant turning point in his career becoming Stefan’s studio assistant and close friend. Stefan’s influence as an internationally famous enamellist and painter and his kindly direction and encouragement laid the basis for all of Neal’s work up to the present.

Although Neal's work bears no resemblance to the scale and symbolism of Stefan’s work, the studio discipline and long gradations of colour will always be hallmarks of this unlikely yet highly beneficial meeting. Today he works from his studio near Stranraer in Dumfries and Galloway in south-west Scotland. The theme of peace, colour and harmony permeates all of his paintings, many of which depict in watercolour, his specialist subject of the Galloway landscape by moonlight. His paintings continue to be instantly recognizable and enthusiastically collected, and to date, over 5000 limited-edition prints have been sold. [1]

In 2012, over 40 years since last working with Keith Emerson, Neal's watercolour painting "Moonlit Dunes" was used for the cover of Keith's latest CD "Three Fates Project" with Marc Bonilla, Terje Mikkelsen, The Keith Emerson Band and the Munchner Rundfunkorchester.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerson, Lake & Palmer</span> English progressive rock band

Emerson, Lake & Palmer were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards) of the Nice, Greg Lake of King Crimson, and Carl Palmer of Atomic Rooster. With nine RIAA-certified gold record albums in the US, and an estimated 48 million records sold worldwide, they are one of the most popular and commercially successful progressive rock groups of the 1970s, with a musical sound including adaptations of classical music with jazz and symphonic rock elements, dominated by Emerson's flamboyant use of the Hammond organ, Moog synthesizer, and piano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Emerson</span> English keyboardist, songwriter, and composer (1944–2016)

Keith Noel Emerson was an English keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became internationally famous for his work with the Nice, which included writing rock arrangements of classical music. After leaving the Nice in 1970, he was a founding member of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), one of the early progressive rock supergroups.

<i>Pictures at an Exhibition</i> (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album) 1971 live album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Pictures at an Exhibition is a live album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in November 1971 on Island Records. It features the group's rock adaptation of Pictures at an Exhibition, the piano suite by Modest Mussorgsky, performed at Newcastle City Hall on 26 March 1971.

<i>Tarkus</i> 1971 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Tarkus is the second studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 14 June 1971 on Island Records. Following their debut tour across Europe during the second half of 1970, the group paused touring commitments in January 1971 to record a new album at Advision Studios in London. Greg Lake produced the album with Eddy Offord as engineer.

<i>Brain Salad Surgery</i> 1973 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Brain Salad Surgery is the fourth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 7 December 1973 by their new record label, Manticore Records, and distributed by Atlantic Records.

<i>Works Volume 1</i> 1977 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Works Volume 1 is the fifth studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released as a double album on 25 March 1977 on Atlantic Records. Following their world tour supporting Brain Salad Surgery (1973), the group took an extended break before they reconvened in 1976 to record a new album. They were now tax exiles and recorded new material in London and overseas in Montreux, Switzerland and Paris, France. Works Volume 1 features a side dedicated for each member to write and arrange their own tracks, while the fourth side features songs performed collectively. Keith Emerson recorded his Piano Concerto No. 1, Greg Lake wrote several songs with lyricist Peter Sinfield, and Carl Palmer recorded tracks of varied musical styles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Lake</span> English musician (1947–2016)

Gregory Stuart Lake was an English bassist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Palmer</span> English drummer

Carl Frederick Kendall Palmer is an English drummer best known as a founding member of the supergroups Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Asia and sometimes Acoustic Alchemy. He has toured with his own bands since 2001, including Palmer, the Carl Palmer Band, and currently, Carl Palmer's ELP Legacy. He previously was a touring drummer for The Crazy World of Arthur Brown and a founding member of Atomic Rooster.

<i>Trilogy</i> (Emerson, Lake & Palmer album) 1972 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Trilogy is the third studio album by English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released in June 1972, by Island Records. The group had spent most of 1971 touring, and paused in September so they could record a new album at Advision Studios with Eddy Offord resuming his role as engineer. It would be his last with the group, as he later elected to work full-time with Yes. The album features "Hoedown", an arrangement of Aaron Copland's ballet composition which became a live favourite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Carmichael</span> 20th-century Canadian artist

Franklin Carmichael was a Canadian artist and member of the Group of Seven. Though he was primarily famous for his use of watercolours, he also used oil paints, charcoal and other media to capture the Ontario landscapes. Besides his work as a painter, he worked as a designer and illustrator, creating promotional brochures, advertisements in newspapers and magazines, and designing books. Near the end of his life, Carmichael taught in the Graphic Design and Commercial Art Department at the Ontario College of Art.

<i>Emerson, Lake & Palmer</i> (album) 1970 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Emerson, Lake & Palmer is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released in the United Kingdom by Island Records in November 1970, and in the United States by Cotillion Records in January 1971. After the group formed in the spring of 1970, they entered rehearsals and prepared material for an album which became a mix of original songs and rock arrangements of classical music. The album was recorded at Advision Studios in July 1970, when the band had yet to perform live. Lead vocalist and bassist/guitarist Greg Lake produced it.

<i>Love Beach</i> 1978 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Love Beach is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released on 17 November 1978 by Atlantic Records as their final studio album released prior to their split in the following year. By the end of their 1977–1978 North American tour internal relations had started to deteriorate, but the group were contractually required to produce one more album. They retreated to Nassau, Bahamas as tax exiles to record Love Beach with lyricist Peter Sinfield who is credited as a co-writer of each track. After Greg Lake and Carl Palmer had finished recording their parts they left the island, leaving Keith Emerson to finish the album himself.

Edward Offord is a retired English record producer and audio engineer who gained prominence in the 1970s for his work on albums by the progressive rock bands Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Yes.

"Tarkus" is the title track of Emerson, Lake & Palmer's second album. The progressive rock epic lasts 20:35. It was the longest studio suite by the band until the three impressions of "Karn Evil 9". The name "Tarkus" refers to the armadillo-tank from the William Neal paintings on the album cover. The artist has explained that the name is an amalgamation between 'Tartarus' and 'carcass'. Consequently, the name refers to the "futility of war, a man made mess with symbols of mutated destruction." The song "Tarkus" supposedly follows the adventures of Tarkus from his birth, through a fight with a manticore, which he loses and concludes with an aquatic version of Tarkus named "Aquatarkus". Keith Emerson, when asked what work he is proudest of, named his "Piano Concerto" and "Tarkus".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emerson, Lake & Powell</span> English progressive rock band

Emerson, Lake & Powell, sometimes abbreviated as ELP, were an English progressive rock band, considered by many as a variant lineup of Emerson, Lake & Palmer, that released one official studio album in 1986. The album's debut single was "Touch and Go," which peaked at number 60 on the Billboard charts on 19 July 1986.

<i>In the Hot Seat</i> 1994 studio album by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

In the Hot Seat is the ninth and final studio album by English progressive rock band Emerson, Lake & Palmer, released on 27 September 1994 by Victory. Recorded at Goodnight L.A. Studios in Los Angeles, it was produced by Keith Olsen.

Ernest Archibald Taylor, better known as E A Taylor, was a Scottish artist, an oil painter, watercolourist and etcher, and a designer of furniture, interiors and stained glass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William James Blacklock</span> English landscape painter (1816–1858)

William James Blacklock was an English landscape painter, painting scenery in Cumbria, the Lake District and the Scottish Borders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky Man (Emerson, Lake & Palmer song)</span> 0000 single by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

"Lucky Man" is a song by the English progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP), from the group's 1970 self-titled debut album. Written by Greg Lake when he was 12 years old and recorded by the trio using improvised arrangements, the song contains one of rock music's earliest instances of a Moog synthesizer solo. "Lucky Man" was released as a single in 1970 and reached the top 20 in the Netherlands. The song also charted in the United States and Canada. The single was re-released in 1973 and charted again in the US and Canada.

<i>A Time and a Place</i> 2010 box set by Emerson, Lake & Palmer

A Time and a Place is a box set by Emerson, Lake & Palmer. It was released in 2010. The box set takes its name from the band's 1971 song "A Time and a Place".

References

  1. ↑ Edward Macan, Rocking the classics: English progressive rock and the counterculture, pg. 59, Oxford University Press, USA, 1997, ISBN   0-19-509888-9
  2. ↑ William Neal William Neal Studio - Retrieved 16 February 2012
  3. ↑ Neal, Penny - William Neal William Neal Studio - Retrieved 16 February 2012
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.