Leslie K. Newman

Contemporary abstracts

I live and work in the big woods of Indianola. I bring a fresh approach to my expressive, contemporary abstracts – digital paintings, mixed media originals, and hard-edge modernist “Shapemaking” prints. My experience as a designer and illustrator and many years of art study with expressive painter Barbara Fugate inform my work. In June 2023, I completed my fifth 100-day art challenge. For 100 consecutive days I created an original Shapemaking abstract and shared it on Instagram.

My Shapemaking series captures the essence of space, form, and color. The bold compositions burst with energy and surprise. Just like my digital paintings, they are offered as limited-edition prints and are the perfect affordable art to elevate your living or workspace.

My digitally created artwork is expertly presented as archival pigment ink prints on heavy, 100% cotton paper; each radiates with vivid colors and a velvety matte surface and is signed and numbered.

Artist Statement
Abstraction is freedom. Without the constraints of representation, I explore space, form, line, and color, creating artwork that invites a long look and sparks imagination. I leave it to the viewer to dive in and discover their mood and meaning and hope it provides an escape from the frenetic state of today’s world.

I use and am inspired by new media digital tools, methods of global online sharing such as Instagram, and digital and traditional painting. My process is both intuitive and rooted in fundamental art principles. I aim to create compositions that are energetic and unexpected. Some of my influences include Matisse’s cut-outs, mid-century art and design, and the works of Richard Diebenkorn, Joan Mitchell, Stuart Davis, and David Hockney.

I look to art to inspire, surprise, and bring forth a wave of feeling that reminds us of our wondrous existence. I feel it in my process of creating these works. I hope the viewers of my work share in this sense of wonder.

Please visit my website to see more and shop online. Follow me on Instagram @leslienewman.