Neil Linsenmayer

Member since 2019

Linsenmayer’s art education began in Northern Virginia, during his career in national security affairs. In his spare time he became active in art events in the region, finally enrolling regularly in classes at he Art League School in Alexandria, VA., housed in a converted torpedo factory on the banks of the Potomac. The school provides quality art instruction for thousands of part-time students. While in the Washington area he participated in many regional art shows, and was encouraged when some of the works sold, including two that were acquired by the National Institutes of Health for its permanent collection.

In the years that followed, he and his wife Betsy – who from an early age had spent summer months in Rockport – returned here for their annual vacation. He participated in workshops led by the numerous noted artists here, and entered associate-member shows.

In 1992 he was admitted as an artist member of the North Shore Arts Association, a year before moving here permanently. He served three years on the NSAA Board of Trustees, and regularly participates in shows there. In 2015 he had a solo “corroder show”.

In 2019 he was gratified to be admitted as an artist member at RAA&M.

One of his most interesting experiences was a month-long solo show of 21 paintings in the Kensington-Stobart gallery in Salem, MA. in 2006. The show was based on paintings used on Cape Ann local phone book covers over a period of 12 years.

Locally, his paintings are included in the collections of the Cape Ann Historical Society and in the Rockport Public Library’s Brenner Room. He was featured in cover story in the spring 2011 Northshore Life magazine.

Linsenmayer generally works in oil on canvas, although in some cases, especially for smaller works he sometimes favors watercolor or acrylic. His painting style has been strongly influenced by such artist as John Singer Sargent and Edward Hopper, as well as by the many gifted marine painters in New England. In his landscape and harbor paintings he likes things that are just a bit run down. Old boats, old trucks, old houses and the like. He also enjoys doing still life and portraits.

He says “Light, color, and shape are the main ingredients in all my work. For example, how light reflects off one surface onto another, changing its color, luminosity, and character. Light and color give form to objects and are vital to creating the illusion of space. They are key to recapturing the mood of the scene, be it lively, serene or somber. I am drawn to scenes that have a story to tell. That is why many of my paintings feature objects that are old and worn—particularly architectural or marine subjects that bear witness to the passage of time.”