My subject is the cityscape, an environment so rich in potentiality and yet so often neglected. My aim is to encourage people to reappraise their environments and feel a greater sense of involvement, ownership and participation. In this way art leads to action. The paintings are both figurative - relating to the city - and abstract with their formal structures, reflections of light, and modulated, saturated colour. This creative interplay between abstraction and representation is crucial to the nature of the work and to its inspiration. The content and imagery has developed into the landscape with some of the latest work combining aspects of both the urban and rural.

Fundamental to my work is the technique which ensures a fusion of method and imagery. Research leads to a series of drawings which formulates and defines the imagery. The drawings then become the templates of masks through which the paintings are sprayed. This unique method allows for a form of glazing, a means of developing richness and subtlety in the colour and an uninterrupted surface save for changes in hue, tone and structure. The very subject matter, the result of the research, determines the means of painting.

My philosophy of art is that it should not be esoteric but that it should serve the purpose of enriching and enlightening people's conception of the world in which they live. Art must not be divorced from reality. This philosophy has revealed itself in commissions which link art to business and industry. These paintings not only enhance the environments in which they are placed but also heighten people's awareness of the complex purposes served by the sponsoring organisations. Business, industry and educational establishments quite rightly see art as functional. But in no way is artistic integrity compromised by this patronage. Rather it carries on one of the most fundamental and traditional patterns of artistic creation: the relationship between artist and sponsor or patron.

I taught at the University of Brighton for several years. This enabled me to repay some of the benefit I derived from my seven years at the Royal College of Art and Birmingham College of Art. It also provided students with exposure to the philosophy and method of a practising and successful artist. I enjoyed this work and regarded it personally as important. I saw myself as encouraging and nurturing individual talent within the establishment and as preparing students for their future roles in society. My teaching responsibilities with the final year BA student included the supervision of a professional practice elective which helped prepare them to take their place in society.

My work has been used widely for educational purposes: the Tate Gallery and the Royal Academy have organised educational exhibitions that have shown the development of particular imagery from inception to maturity; two colleges have commissioned paintings used for a variety of promotional purposes and staged exhibitions of my work; several educational video tapes have been produced. It is vital that art is accessible and not restricted to a narrow range of venues or a narrow range of people.

The role of the artist combines the solitariness of the studio with the vulnerability of public exhibition. The solitariness results in creativity. The public exhibition assists in the process of communication between artist and public. Painting is my life. What I am painting is what I believe in and what I have spent the whole of my professional life researching and practising. I want to continue to convey my vision and my understanding. I want my work to be approachable, to be enjoyed and to enhance lives.

My work has been shown in numerous venues nationally and internationally. I have exhibited in the Middle East and visited and worked in Croatia which will resulted in an exhibition at the Royal Academy. Public commissions have been an important part of my work and have included the British Airports Authority, Lloyds of London, InterCity and a commission to mark the inauguration of Waterloo International.

I have been involved in teaching for twenty five years. My aim has been to encourage students to be aware of and draw upon the local environment in all its richness both in an abstract and figurative manner. I have attempted to break down the mystique of painting by encouraging students to appreciate both creative and practical aspects. My exhibitions, particularly at the Tate and the Royal Academy, have been used as teaching aids to illustrate the development of an idea from its inception, through the drawing stages to completion. The video Brendan Neiland Commissioned Art and Professional Practice portrays this important aspect of my teaching. It follows the development of a particular series of paintings and shows the research, integrity and commitment needed to create them. The film also explores the practical implications of being an artist, the relationships and obligations an artist has beyond his public - dealings with galleries, critics, collectors and commissioning bodies.

The question of the nature of research in art and design is subject to much intense debate nationally. I can only interpret this question in the light of my own creative experience. Artistic research may be held to be of a different kind to the academic. Nevertheless it plays a fundamental part in the making of my paintings. To be successful it is necessary to have a unique vision, to present something of consequence in a new, personal and original manner. Artistic creation involves looking beyond the immediate. It involves the search for significance by the processes of reflection, comprehension and manipulation resulting in the visual language of painting.

My research has taken me from the factories of Birmingham to Douglas Cooper in Avignon, from North Africa to Turkey, from the capitals of Europe to North America. It has involved the study of Fernand Leger who was the first artist to use the awkward contemporary environment, the urbane imagery of Rosenquist and Wesselman, the interiors of Vermeer in Amsterdam, the extravagance of Gaudi in Barcelona, as well the religious sensitivity of El Greco in Toledo and the black intensity of Goya in Madrid. All this has been part of my continuing process of research. This together with the normality of the city environment is taken back and considered in the quietness of the studio and through the language of art transformed into vibrant and original paintings.