Neil Shawcross is one of the leading Irish painters. He and his family have had a life long love of jazz, with brother Ian being a trumpeter and leader of a band. Neil carried his love of jazz forward when he came to lecture at Belfast College of Art in the Seventies. Belfast at that time had a limited exposure to jazz, but two of Neil's great friends, Dougie Knight and Solly Leipsitz were pioneering the music in the city. Dougie owned a vinyl record shop specializing in Blues and Jazz music. Solly also owned a similar shop and also set himself up as a jazz guru and jazz critic. Dougie and Solly had a major influence on young Van Morrison, who was given the space above Dougie's shop, known affectionately as 'The Shop'.

In his work JAZZ, the four simple letters started as an inspiration for Neil's use of color and shape and ended up as a tribute to both his love for jazz and his two great friends.

Though generally known as a Northern Irish artist, Neill Shawcross arrived from his native Lancashire in 1962 to teach at Belfast Art College. He's remained in Belfast. He has the instincts of a brilliant graphic designer and illustrator writ large. In his portraits, still life and other subjects, he aims for what has been termed a childlike simplicity - no easy feat, but he manages to do it. He is well known for combining red and green, two complementary colours, to zingy effect.