Neil was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and has lived in Victoria, B.C. (19 years) and Montreal, Quebec (7 years). He currently lives in Toronto and is a frequent visitor to New York where he has shown his work since 2003.
Neil has painted full time since 1983 and also co-owns a women’s clothing line, Birds of North America, with his partner, designer Hayley Gibson. The two have shared a studio since meeting in 2006 and opened their first store on Queen Street West in Toronto in 2018.