Like any good citizen of the world, I wish for peace and prosperity for all. But… for the past few years I have been responding in my paintings to the heightened geo-political tensions here and abroad. I see Danger. I see Hope. Then I see THE TRANSITION back and forth.
"To the casual observer, the work of Leslie Neumann evokes a distinctive paradox. It is both passionate and soothing, powerful and disarming, apocalyptic and transcendent, predictable with an element of surprise. It's a dichotomy of sensations from an artist intent on peering into nature's soul." Lara Bradburn, Tampa Tribune
Transitions Collage #2
Collage Leslie, Process #19
Transitions Collage #3
Waiting for Eight Bells
Red Tide
Leslie with Red Tide
Turning Point
On the Threshold
Winds of Change
Squall
Leslie with Squall
Angle of Re-Entry
Leslie with Blue Wave and Still Looming
Blue Wave
Still Looming
I moved from New York City, population 8 million, to Aripeka, Florida, a small fishing village with 397 people on the Gulf of Mexico. My home and studio are surrounded by more than 15,000 acres of coastal wilderness. All this beauty has inspired and influenced me as an artist. Every day I’m engaged by its raw, primitive energy.
I'm a landscape painter, but "landscape" is a loosely applied word; what I end up with is hardly any commonplace landscape.
“Like the word love, “landscape painting” is often used as a common-place term, wasted on work of little distinction or feeling. Leslie Neumann’s visions of natural scenery are the real thing. There’s no peace here, no safe hold. Neumann’s landscapes are about life. They celebrate unpredictability and mood. If you want to see the sublime, if you want to see what Florida would be missing without its wetlands, see these pictures by Neumann.” Joan Altabe, Sarasota Herald Tribune
Wetlands Collage #21
Leslie, Process Collage #25
Wetlands Collage #03
Marriage Grotto
Leslie with Marriage Grotto
Garden of Unearthly Delights
Reflections 48
Reflections 49
Reflections 42
Aftersome
Twin Blazes
Forgiving and Forgetting
Reflections 58
Reflections 57
Reflections 56
Phoenix
Leslie with Reflections 23, Giant
Blazing Heart
Fiery Marsh
Sun Forest 6
