Mary Kay Neumann

medium: painting

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Magic & Loss 2010 Painting	Heard it Thru the Grapevine 2007 Painting	After the Gold Rush 2007 Painting
Double Fantasy 2007 Painting	Creatures of Love 2007 Painting	Falling Slowly 2010 Painting
Walk on the Wild Side 2007 Painting	What a Little Moonlight Can Do 2008 Painting	Come As Your Are 2007 Painting
Every Breath You Take 2007 Painting

Contact information
Artist resides in: Madison, WI
Email Address: marykay@mknart.com
Web site: www.mknart.com

Artist statement
My paintings capture the wildness and sensuality of the natural world. I visualize nature as monoliths of color, emotion and energy. I explore the edges of abstraction and realism, pushing the boundaries of watercolor while conveying the joyfulness of painting. Using vibrant color as my language, pigment and water explode across paper to form imagery. Working wet onto wet requires that simultaneously I am in and out of control with the medium; this is an essential component of my work.

25 years as a trauma therapist is evident in my work. Many people have been subjected to violence and neglect of all kinds and I am drawn to helping them on the path of healing from adversity. There is great beauty in the human spirit fighting through darkness, reaching towards freedom from pain. Flowers that emerge from my brush reflect the dramatic struggle to exist. I show the dignity of imperfection, the beauty present in the pulsing life force as it reaches for the sun. A celebration of the scars of survival.

Flower Series: As a gardener, I find common garden plants found in Wisconsin have personality, particularly sunflowers and poppies. During the painting process, Flowers and foliage actually seem to speak to me, exhibiting individual emotional traits more akin to people than to plants. I view the life forms of a garden are a reflection of the human experience.

Tidepool Series: Paintings of seascapes and tidepools are my emotional response to the rugged coast of Northern California. Seemingly, fragile tidepools thrive in this beautiful yet harshly violent environment. Appearing as brilliant underwater flower gardens, I am drawn to the contrasts of the brutal sea meeting the shore.

Art and Social Change: Throughout history, art has chronicled the dramatic changes in the world. Art can be a source of healing and a powerful agent of social change. I donate 10 percent of all my sales to non-profit groups who aim to make the planet a better place. In this way, art making can become a form of activism.

Biography
Mary Kay Neumann is a professional artist, living and working in her studio in Madison, Wis. In addition to her art career, she is also a licensed psychotherapist, she founded a feminist therapy clinic for women, where she continues in private practice. Art making sustains her in her professional life as a clinician working with trauma survivors. The courage she witnesses in people's healing journeys inspires and informs her painting.

Public and Corporate Collections
State of Wisconsin Art Collection-DVM, Waukesha, Wis.
Meriter Hospital, Madison, Wis.
Petkovsek & Moran, CPA, Madison, Wis.
Red Sage Health, Madison, Wis.
D&K Pattern, St. Charles, Mich.

Awards and Honors
Wisconsin Arts Board, Percent for Art Direct Purchase Award, 2010/2011
2009 Her Mark Calendar and Journal of Art and Poetry, in conjunction with Woman Made Gallery, Chicago
2008 Small Rays of Hope and Fragments of Larger Idea Calendar, Blue Pearl Press in conjunction with the Rhonda Schaller Studio, New York City