About The Artist Neil Collins

I was born in SF, CA. As a child I lived in Las Vegas, NV. When I was 12, my family and I tried to relocate to Alaska. We packed every thing up into a van and set out on the road headed north. At the Canadian border, we were denied entry, because we were almost out of $ and you had to show that you had $300- cash to get across. So we camped out in a tent at the "Ferndale Campground" about 20 miles shy of Canada. After living on an isolated beef ranch in Northwestern Washington state for a few years, I got really restless. The combo of entering the teenage years, being on the ranch and reading things like Kerouac didn't mix well. So I started seeking out the trouble makers at school and as soon as I could, I left home at 14. I lived on the streets, hitch hiked and rode freight trains for the next 4 years, before finally settling down in Tucson. I began following my longtime interest in the making of art. I am a self taught artist and have been painting in oils seriously for over 10 years now. I've had to do a lot of construction to pay the bills over the years, but that has helped my view of art evolve in ways that I could never have dreamed possible if some education and career had just been handed to me. I went and lived in Portland, OR for a year,learning to tattoo, at night and working as a hodcarrier during the day. I have my own website www.studio23tucson.com where all my work can be viewed and purchased. I accept paypal and am more than happy to work with some one on pricing as well as payment plans. I can ship paintings to any where in the U.S. To be honest, I love to make art and plan to do it in spite of what the art market is up to. Never the less, making art is much easier, when I can afford to eat. So, basically I want my art to belong to some one who enjoys it, along with me getting some small reimbursement so that I can live and continue creating. Hope you enjoy the work. Thanks.