Leslie Neumann
Aripeka, FL
My paintings are a contrast of seductive beauty coupled with an invitation to adventure.
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Leslie Neumann Biography
Leslie Neumann is a professional artist based in Aripeka, Florida, whose luminous encaustic landscapes bridge the space between abstraction and representation — seductive in their beauty, alive with a sense of place and discovery.
Working in encaustic (hot beeswax), Neumann builds richly layered paintings inspired by the coastal wilderness that surrounds her. More than three decades ago, she left New York City for a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico, and that move proved transformative — awakening a deep connection to the natural world that has defined her work and her life ever since.
That same passion for the land extends beyond the studio. A committed conservation activist, Neumann has worked alongside community partners to permanently protect thousands of acres of pristine coastal wilderness. Through sustained negotiations with private and public agencies, she and her fellow advocates have secured connected corridors and greenways that will endure for generations.
Neumann holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the California College of Arts in Oakland and a Master of Arts in Painting from New York University. Her work has been exhibited in 92 shows over the past three decades and resides in the permanent collections of nine museums and more than 75 corporate collections nationwide — among them Nissan Motor Corporation, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels, Baylor College of Medicine, the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, and 43 Firebirds Restaurants across the United States. She is also the recipient of numerous grants and awards in recognition of her artistic contributions.
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Leslie Neumann Artist's Statement
How the Land Changed the Way I Paint
More than thirty-five years ago, I moved from New York City to Florida. I fell in love with Florida's wetlands — not just as places to paint, but as ecosystems worth fighting for. That love has quietly shaped every choice I make in the studio.
When I first started painting these landscapes, I was drawn to their beauty in a fairly straightforward way — I did “scenes viewed through the window:” beautiful, shimmering water surrounded by sawgrass and cabbage palms. But the longer I've worked to preserve these places, the more intentional my artistic choices have become.
My subject matter narrowed as my commitment deepened. I paint what I know, and I know these wetlands the way you know something you've spent decades trying to protect. Every marsh, every cypress knee has a history that I carry with me into the studio.
My palette has evolved too. Florida's wetland light is particular — humid, diffuse, sometimes electric before a storm. I've moved toward colors that honor that atmosphere rather than romanticize it. The murky greens and tarnished golds of a wetland aren't conventionally pretty, but they're honest, and they have their own unique beauty.
And then there are the stormy skies. Florida storms are dramatic and humbling. Painting them feels like an act of witness — a reminder that these landscapes are powerful and alive, not just scenic backdrops. My painted skies are turbulent and unresolved. Often there is very little visible ground, which is symbolic of “nowhere to stand, no ground beneath our feet.” These places are not tame. And they shouldn't look tame.
After 35 years, I can't separate the artist from the advocate. The wetlands shaped me, and I hope my paintings, in some small way, make others want to protect them too.
Joan Altabe, Art Critic for the Sarasota Herald Tribune, 1997
“The words “Landscape Painting” is often used as a common-place term, wasted on work of little distinction. 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.”