About the Artist
Jeanne May
Jeanne May (b. 1966, USA) is an emerging contemporary oil painter whose work is rooted in portraiture. May’s work blends abstraction with realism using expressive brush work and a vibrant color palette to express themes of solitude, resilience and self-determination.
After retiring from a career in education in 2022, May relocated to North Carolina and embraced art as her full-time calling. Since then, she has shown work throughout the United States and has been published in American Art Collector magazine, Homiens “Meet the Artist” and numerous exhibition catalogs.
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
I paint figures and faces in oil to capture the weight of internal human emotion by blending realism, abstraction and surrealism to reshape reality and create a visual representation of feelings that words cannot otherwise express.
I often look to music and poetry to find the right words to explain my art, using lines from songs and poems to title my pieces. I believe that visual art has always been meant to go hand in hand with these mediums. My work translates these external inspirations into a visual dialogue about the inner mind.
The emotions expressed in my paintings are not meant to be felt in isolation. There is no human emotion that is not shared by someone else in this world. My work serves as a reminder that when you feel alone in your experience, you only need to look to art to find connection.
Selected Works
Portrait of Ginger, After Sargent – 20×16 oil on cradled panel
This painting is based on the John Singer Sargeant painting “The Countess of Rocksavage”. The woman in my piece is my daughter, Ginger.
Earth Was Made for Lovers – 12×24 oil on cradled panel
This Painting is the second in the “Lovers in the Garden” series
Pedigree 3 – Where Is My Mind? – 12×8 oil, oil stick, cold wax on (2) cradled panels
This painting is the third from my “Pedigree” series based on the Poem by Emily Dickinson, “The Pedigree of Honey”
Love Is Love and Knowledge Is Power – 24×12 oil on cradled panel
This painting is the first in a series of paintings I call “Lovers in the Garden”.
In Contrast With The Love – 24×30 oil, oil stick, cold wax on canvas
This painting is a metaphor for the contrasting feelings one experiences when grieving.
