Born in 1968, Michael Shane Neal is a native of Nashville, Tennessee. Since the age of 21, he has been painting landscapes, still life, and portraits for collections throughout the United States. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from David Lipscomb University and continued his studies at the Santa Fe Institute of Fine Arts, The Scottsdale Artist School, and the Lyme Academy of Art. He is the protégé of one of the nation's foremost portraitists, Everett Raymond Kinstler.

Winner of the 2001 Portrait Society of America's International Portrait Competition, Neal has painted such portraits as Senator Arthur Vandenberg for the United States Capitol, Washington, DC. Vandenberg's portrait is the first commission of its kind in nearly 50 years, and upon receiving the commission at the age of 32, Neal is among the youngest artists ever commissioned by the United States Senate. He also recently painted Jazz legend Dr. Billy Taylor for the National Arts Club, New York City, and Whitney MacMillan, Chairman and CEO of the Cargill Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, the largest privately held company in the world.

Neal's work is included in major educational collections such as Vanderbilt, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Yale, and Tulane Universities. He recently received the Catherine Lorilland Wolfe Award from the National Arts Club and the Tara Fredrix Award from the Audubon Artists of America, both for landscape. In 2004, he received the Artist's Magazine Award of Excellence at the Oil Painters of America National Exhibition. He is also the recipient of the Avalon Award for Creative Excellence from David Lipscomb University. Carving out time for teaching each year, Neal is a popular demonstrator and lecturer at venues around the country. In 2004, he demonstrated and lectured for over 750 attendees at the Portrait Society of America's annual conference in Boston, Massachusetts.

Neal is represented by numerous galleries and portrait agencies around the country including the Vose Galleries in Boston, Massachusetts where he recently participated in a show entitled Teaching the New Realism: Traditions and Departures, Mentors and Protégés, as the protégé of Everett Raymond Kinstler.

Neal is a member of the National Arts Club, the Allied Artists of America, the Artist Fellowship of New York, the Cumberland Society of Painters, the Oil Painters of America, the Audubon Artists, and the Portrait Society of America.

Neal enjoys golf, plein air landscape painting, and reading with a particular interest in history. With his family, Neal resides near his studio, located in the historic Hillsboro Village district of downtown Nashville.