Artist Joan LeMay excavates and communicates the emotional and energetic core of her subjects as an act of connection and projection. Whether painting in high-chroma or drawing in greyscale, her celebratory, symbolism-packed work reveres who and what soothes us and brings us joy--portraiture of loved ones, beloved music and pop culture personalities and public role models, fellow artists, and heavily saturated explorations and exaltations of creature comforts. Her art book about Steely Dan with writer Alex Pappademas, Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Soul Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan, is forthcoming from the University of Texas Press American Music Series in Spring 2023.

LeMay’s fine art has been exhibited internationally in galleries, museums, alternative venues, and public spaces in New York City, Los Angeles and Pomona, California; Seattle and Anacortes, Washington; Portland, Oregon, Provincetown, Massachusetts and Koln, Germany.

Her work has been published in dozens of publications and multiple books, and has been created for independent films and creative agencies. A lifelong music universe person, her artwork appears on several album covers. She is based in London, England and New York, NY.