Proud moment – Mackenzie Thorpe unveiled a bronze sculpture , called With Me Dad , in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge in 2019 .
Passion – One of Mackenzie Thorpe ’ s proudest moments came when he was asked to speak at the inaugural Tees Business Awards in 2023 .
Japan or Australia – I talk up Teesside . People hear how I talk or ask why I paint the working man , and the conversation starts from there .
“ And it ’ s amazing how many Teesside people we meet . While opening a show in Florida , I met a couple from Billingham . Then , at a show in Perth , Australia , I met a man who ’ d lived a few doors down from my grandma . I couldn ’ t believe it .”
Once , a man walked into a gallery in New York , heard Mackenzie ’ s accent , and asked : “ Hey , are you from Middlesburg ?” It transpired that the man ’ s job was delivering tons of steel every month to Teesport .
Again in New York , while Mackenzie was standing with his wife , Susan , a man came up and started a conversation . He asked Mackenzie where he was from and said how much he admired his work – especially a painting of two working men . The man was Rod Steiger – and the A-list Hollywood actor left with an understanding of where Middlesbrough is and what it stands for .
Back home , one of Mackenzie ’ s proudest moments came in 2019 when , in front of an excited Middlesbrough crowd , he unveiled a bronze sculpture , called With Me Dad , in the shadow of the Transporter Bridge .
“ I wanted there to be a permanent memorial to the working man , so the next generation know about the town ’ s heritage ,” he says .
“ The Transporter Bridge is the mother . It ’ s the mam you see when you ’ re coming home from school . You see the Transporter Bridge , and you know you ’ re home .”
Other proud moments include being asked to speak at the inaugural Tees Business Awards in 2023 , when his passion for the area earned a standing ovation .
“ I looked around the room and thought to myself , these people are still the same – they still believe in where they ’ re from ,” he says .
Mackenzie Thorpe is an emotional man , and his voice cracks as he goes on to talk about his pride in “ the ultimate tribute ” being paid by the North East Autism Society .
As a boy , he was branded “ thick and stupid ” by teachers . As an adult , a school for autistic children was named after him at South Bank .
“ I wake up in the night , wondering how it happened – and it blows my mind because this is where my heart is ,” he says , hardly able to get the words out .
To mark its opening , Mackenzie presented the school with a new painting . Depicting children playing with hearts in front of the Transporter Bridge , he named it after the old Jim Reeves song , Welcome To My World .
It might easily be Mackenzie Thorpe ’ s theme tune because his world is Teesside – and he takes it with him no matter where he goes .
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