Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Leslie Neumann. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Leslie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

There’s a difference between loving to make art – even as a little kid – and then making a commitment as an adult to becoming a professional artist. I was fortunate in that my family was always creative and always supportive. But it was a personal tragedy that propelled me to a lifetime of fine art. When I was 19 and my brother was 20, he died in an automobile crash. He was my only sibling and we were very close.
At the time, I was in my first year of college, studying philosophy and literature, but I was unable to focus after his death, and so I went home to live with my parents for a year, taking an office job.
It was after that year at home that my parents very graciously encouraged me to re-direct my life to “what mattered most” to me, to do what I loved best.
I had always made art, but it was at that moment when I realized making art would be my life.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After living in New York City for 20 years, population 8 million, I moved to Aripeka, Florida, a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico, population 395. My home and studio are surrounded by more than 15,000 acres of coastal wetlands which have influenced and inspired me as a painter. Everyday I’m engaged by the raw, primitive energy of my immediate environment.
I produce two bodies of work, both landscapes, using encaustic (hot beeswax.) The Wetlands Series is characterized by close-up views of lush tropical settings, with saturated colors. I purposefully shifted to a close-up perspective because the “kayak point of view” places the viewer IN the salt marsh, surrounded by steamy beauty.

The other body of work is called the Transitions Series, where I depict an immense sky filled with storm clouds. Often there is very little visible ground, which is symbolic of “nowhere to stand, no ground beneath our feet.” I began this series in 2017 when our political climate became openly divisive.

Both bodies of work share the paradox of seductive beauty coupled with a sense of danger. I create a hybrid between abstraction and representation, meaning, as you view my work from across the room, it appears as a recognizable scene, but when you approach the painting, the surface dissolves into abstraction.

I’m also a citizen activist, focused on land conservation along the coast in west central Florida. I’m proud to be one of the founding members of a local land trust called The Gulf Coast Conservancy which facilitates the protection of environmentally sensitive lands by placing them into public ownership. Since 1992, we have helped preserve 15,000 precious coastal acres – the same acres that serve as my artistic inspiration.

I’m a graduate of California College of Arts in Oakland, California, with Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, and a Master of Art degree in painting from New York University in Manhattan. My work is in the permanent collections of 9 museums, 75 corporate collections nationwide, and has been exhibited in 90 shows in the past 30 years.

In addition to earning Fellowships from New York State and Florida, my artwork can be found in private and public collections throughout the United States, including Tampa Museum, Nissan Motor Corporation, Marriott and Ritz Carlton Hotels, Baylor College of Medicine, and 43 Firebirds Restaurants throughout the USA.

I will be having four solo exhibitions in these Florida locations during 2023-2024: Woodfield Fine Art, Brooker Creek Preserve, Dunedin Fine Arts Center, and Arts on Douglas.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Beauty is my mission! I like to talk about “the detour that became my life.” Having grown up just outside NYC, and being immersed in all forms of culture, such as the visual arts, music, and theatre, and after living as an adult in NYC for two decades, seeing art exhibitions in museums and galleries every week, I have to laugh that I totally pivoted about 30 years ago into an unexpected life of nature. Now my mission in life is to create beauty, or better stated, to showcase beauty.
I do this through my artwork, and I also do it through my volunteer activism. The amazing natural beauty that’s outside my door is the inspiration for my artwork AND for my land conversation work.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

My absolute favorite thing about being a full-time, professional artist is the act of painting. It’s a journey of discovery every single time. From “nothing” comes “something.” As I paint, I try to recreate what I saw in nature, what moved me so profoundly. Painting is a re-immersion into that special moment, that special scene. I get to re-live it again and again.
But there’s more: I revel in the beauty of the materials – the unexpected “happy accidents” that occur with encaustic (hot wax), and how beautiful the colors and textures are.
Many people like to travel – but for me, the best journey happens in the studio.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.leslieneumann.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leslieneumann/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leslie.neumann.artist
• Other: https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/leslie-neumann https://leslieneumann.square.site/ https://vimeo.com/leslieneumann

Image Credits
Silver Moon Photography Beth Reynolds