A HOMESICK ex-pat Port man has put his artwork in the frame by painting iconic images of his home town.

Neal Crossan has lived in Consett in County Durham for six years but as far as he is concerned he still belongs to the Port.

So when he took up painting, he drew on Inverclyde for inspiration.

Neal, 50, formerly of Mid Auchinleck, said: “I been living in Consett for the last six years but my heart is still in the Port.

“I’ve painted around a dozen of the Port and a few of Greenock.

“I used old postcards for most of the Port pictures.”

Neal always had a keen interest in art when he was at school and when his children were young he painted Disney murals.

He said: “I took it up again a few years ago when my wife got me a paint-by-numbers set.” 

Neal is returning home this month for a school reunion with former classmates at St Stephen’s High and his work is proving popular.

He said: “I’ve sold quite a few Port Glasgow paintings.

“I like the nostalgia of the shipyards and street corners.

“All my family worked in the shipyards.”

Two of his pictures recently sold for £80 and the image of the Goliath Crane at Scott Lithgow fetched £120.

They have been shipped off to Sweden, to an ex-draughtsman from the yards.

Neal has also enjoyed some fun with his work, painting Lyle Hill and adding his mum and dad into the picture.

He said: “I put it up on Facebook and I showed my mum and she didn’t even know it was her!”

Neal has set up a page where people can see his work and it can be viewed at http://pixels.com/profiles/neal-crossan or on his Facebook page.