Biography
Jeanne May is an oil painter working in Stella, North Carolina, USA. Her work blends abstraction with realism using expressive brush work, cold wax medium and a vibrant color palette. She began oil painting at the age of 10 but started her full time art journey in 2023 after retiring from a career in teaching. Jeanne’s figurative works are deeply intertwined with her emotional response to women’s rights and environmental issues. Being mostly self taught, Jeanne seeks out opportunities to study with established artist both locally and internationally, most recently in Portugal with Tania Rivilis. Her work has been published in Homiens “Meet the Artist” and in American Art Collector “Collector’s Focus – Art of the Nude” July, 2025.
Jeanne May’s evolving journey as an artist is a potent reminder of art’s power to both reflect and inspire personal and societal transformations. As she looks toward the future, she remains committed to expanding her artistic influence and engaging with the world through her vibrant, evocative works.
Artist Statement
My work explores themes of solitude and resilience, portraying how moments of inner struggle can be met with calm acceptance. My compositions draw attention not only to the figure’s form but to the emotional landscapes she inhabits, offering space to consider the strength found in stillness and the understated nature of personal anguish. I have been drawn to emotions of grief after losing my husband to cancer. It was after his death that I started painting again. Trying to express the contrasting emotions one feels during this process is difficult to put into words, but paint allows me to represent that there is beauty in grief. In this way my painting is self healing. Through my art, I invite viewers to take time with the piece so they may feel the painting and engage with the delicate balance between physical reality and emotional introspection. The beauty of figurative work is that it connects us by our humanity. My hope is that the viewer can see themselves in my subject and therefore see me in them offering a shared contemplation of our human condition.
