Meet Cate! Blog contributor and studio super-girl.

I'm so excited to tell you about Cate Tynjala, my wonderful intern who has been helping me in the studio. She's a student at the University of Minnesota studying English, writing and journalism. She is wise beyond her years, smart as a whip and always arrives early when we meet... which is one of those little things that doesn't go unnoticed! And, she's always wearing a big, happy smile on her face that is infectious (see photo below)!

I met Cate this past summer at the Uptown Art Fair when she introduced herself to me and expressed interest in working with me. She asked me all of the right questions and was interested in everything I do as an artist, despite not being an artist herself. I knew right away that this girl was special! Any girl who has such confidence to come up to a stranger and ask questions beyond the typical pleasantries and offer her assistance is the kind of girl I want around me!

Over the past several months, I've given Cate various projects around the studio like photographing content for Instagram, writing new website content, research and Photoshop projects. My goal was to get a feel for what she might enjoy helping me with the most. I never want an intern to feel like they are doing "sh*t work" that isn't helping them grow.

One of the things I have to give Cate major credit for is this blog. It is because of her, I rebooted my blog with purpose! After she spent a few months working with me and learning about what I do, she reminded me I have much to say about my art, my process and all of the unique events and life lessons that have brought me to where I am today as a self-made artist. She reminded me that people love to learn about the artist they are buying from... just like she did on the day she met me.

I had been writing a blog since college, but I took a break for the past several years because I developed a form of writing paralysis once my art career began to grow. Once I realized there were humans who actually paid attention to my blog, the added pressure of new readers meant I felt a sense of responsibility to post better content- which meant more time spent carefully writing, researching and creating content for my blog. I labored over what to post every time I sat down to write, and drafted up more posts that I actually posted. I worked myself into a paralysis that eventually I just quit... and spent my time creating art instead of blogging.

Cate reminded me that my posts didn't need to be perfect, just real.

And so, this new blog was created. I migrated some of my favorite posts over from my old blog, but for the most part, many of my old posts didn't make the cut. We wanted to write freely about creative living topics, art process, fun projects, how-to's and events that you-- as readers and lovers of my art-- might enjoy. There aren't strict rules to our blog topics and writing... after all, I am an artist!

You'll see that Cate is now an official contributor on my blog. She had a wonderful idea of writing posts from her point-of-view. By letting Cate share her observations of working with me and documenting my creation process, it takes the pressure off of me to create ALL of content myself. She is allowing me keep creating without having to worry about stopping to photograph or write about everything myself- which is often impossible for me to do when I'm, well, painting! Plus, she's a beautiful writer who has a gift with words far more eloquent than I. And, she's armed with a camera and new photo skills! Knowing that I have Cate to help me with the creating and editing of blog posts gives me just the confidence I needed to get over my paralysis. Plus, she holds me accountable to posting regularly on my blog thanks to a new posting schedule!

You may expect a new blog post at the beginning of every week. Some posts will be published by me, and some by Cate! I hope you enjoy the new blog and stories to come!

#catetynjala #artistblog #valeriecarpender #writer

One-Day Office Makeover Challenge in Seattle

With one day to do it and limited resources, The Stable's new Seattle office needed a quick and creative makeover, complete with original art work made in record time. Here's how you can go from neigh to YAY, too!

The cozy new seating area. Simply rearranging the existing furniture away from the walls and tying it together with a plush rug made a huge difference,

I love a good home or office makeover challenge.

This sort of thing is right up my alley.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've always enjoyed rearranging my bedroom furniture and belongings on a monthly basis. I was constantly trying to find ways to organize, decorate and improve my humble little room. I didn't grow up in a household with a lot of money to spend on decorative items, so I've become really good at making my own. This is a skill that comes in handy to day!

Case in point...

My fiancé, Nik, and I recently took a trip to Seattle to visit the brand new office space for the second location his agency, The Stable. When we arrived at the bare-bones office, it was screaming for help! The office had desks, chairs and a few random pieces of furniture scattered throughout (including a couple couches, a coatrack and pin-ball machine) and lots and lots of white walls. It did not (yet) have the same inviting vibe of The Stable's main office in Minneapolis, where the open, collaborative environment is modern and industrial.

With one day to do it, and limited resources, Nik and I transformed the office space with a little help from the nearby Target, Dick Black and some good ol' hard work. And in the end, we didn't need to spend a lot of money to make the space look expensive.

My immediate plan was to get to work on creating as much art as possible to fill those bare walls. Art is the first place I start when I am thinking of decorating a room because it's always naturally the focal point and sets the tone of the space. And, well, I am an artist and I know how original art can really bring life to a space. Furniture, rugs and other decor comes next.

Conveniently, there was a Dick Blick store located right next door to The Stable's new office, so I loaded up on the necessary items to paint with (see photo below). I bought several nice big, thick canvases to do some quick abstracts on as well as some small squares that could be placed throughout the office. I usually only use thick canvases for my paintings because they look more substantial on a wall, don't need to be framed and they are sturdier and resist warping. Abstracts are relatively easy to paint quickly especially when the color pallette is limited, but they still require some thought. A good artist friend of mine gave me a helpful tip when painting abstract art: you need to think of the title, a feeling or a real subject before touching the paint brush.

Abstract art isn't just random shapes and lines, it's a feeling or experience that can't be explained with words, but can be captured visually on canvas. And, they can create energy, flow and a modern cool-factor to a space.

I spent most of the day creating a total of nine paintings, ranging in size from small to large, some on canvas, some framed on paper. To keep my projects as simple as possible, I opted to paint minimal, modern abstract pieces. For the larger paintings, I used high-contrast, graphic shapes and lines to quickly add some energy and interest to to the main room. The smaller paintings add pops of color and texture to the adjacent room and can be arranged together or apart.

My makeshift mini-art studio for the day and the bare essentials.

I also found some supplies at Target. While these little craft paints are not ideal for paintings, they're quick and easy for little projects that require a quick pop of pre-mixed color.

I used thumbtacks to hold the paintings on the wall in place of an easel. This big, fat cheap brush is one of my faves for abstracts.

I like the flow of a triptych on a long wall because the shapes fill the space in an interesting pattern.

While it was an excellent place to start, creating art was only one part of the office makeover.

Nik and I needed to create some inspiring work areas for the new employees. No sense having cool art and nowhere to enjoy it! The space needed some furniture, lamps, decorative items and organization, but we were strictly limited in time, shopping options and on what we could fit into an Uber.

So where did we go? Duh. Target. But to add an even bigger challenge, the nearest Target wasn't even a real Target. It was one of those new mini-Targets that only has a small selection of home furnishings and decor.

Nik and I stuffed our Uber to the max with our Target bounty. We found a cool tapestry piece for $50 (I think it looks more expensive) to break up the types wall-decor. We found a big, plush rug for $99 that looks perfect over the cement floor and ties together the new seating area.

The shelf (pictured below) was already existing, but it needed some serious shelf-styling. Not sure if shelf-styling is a thing, but I think it is! A thoughtfully curated shelf is a work of art in-and-of itself. I like to mix books, mini-artworks, plants and shiny metal pieces. I don't advise trying to fill a bare shelf in one day because they should include personal items that are special, not just things from mini-Target.

I also love cool modern plants... tropical kinds specifically. I have them everywhere in my home and studio. While the mini-Target did not have any real ones (sad face), we bought every fake succulent and acceptable plant they had. It was either fake plants, or no plants, and I think fake plants are better than none!

#officemakeover #abstractart #thestable #seattle #valeriecarpender

14 Meaningful, Mixed Media Commissioned Works for the new HCMC

I just finished my biggest commissioned project yet- 14 original paintings for the new Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Check out the process of creating all of these meaningful works meant to inspire and spread joy among everyone who sees them.

"Love is All You Need. Acrylic/Iron Oxide on canvas

Creating this many paintings for the new hospital was quite the undertaking! I started the planning of the project in June of 2017 and completed the works in time for the unveiling in March of 2018. I worked closely with a team of staff from the hospital and their art curator, Vicki Hovde to create a body of work meant to brighten an often dreary place and ease the minds of patients and staff.

For this beautiful new state-of-the-art hospital, I wanted my art to lend itself to the space appropriately. The hospital feels open, modern and contemporary (relatively speaking in hospital terms!), and I wanted my art to match! I wanted to push the boundaries just enough and move away from "safe" hospital art that can sometimes be boring. It was also important to me that the meaning of each piece, once discovered by the viewer, made each painting truly beautiful from the inside out.

But wait... there were some limitations to what I was told I couldn't paint.

Hospital art has it's limitations... so I discovered! While using bright and pretty colors was never a problem, I needed to be extra careful with my subject matter, while still conveying the messages I wanted in order to make the art meaningful. HCMC gave me some guidelines I needed to follow based upon past artwork that either worked or did not work in the hospital setting.

I was told no abstracts (because someone found a male body part in one some time ago), no faces or figures (because some cultures and religions are sensitive to exposed skin in art) and no horses because horses are too big and powerful of a creature to put in a hospital where some people might feel a sense of fear.

So basically, I was left to paint super safe florals, landscapes and still-lifes. Sad face. Yawn.

So what did I do? I broke the rules!

Well, not entirely. I love a good challenge! Contemporary horses and portraits/figurative are my two favorite subjects, and they're also my best subjects, technically speaking. What artist doesn't want to show their best work for such a huge public space? I had to somehow make the hospital trust me with some horses and figures.

We came to a happy medium... I would have to learn to paint florals (in my own Valerie way, of course!) along with a few "safe-ish" pieces as long as they would trust me with a few horses and figures. I promised that the figurative pieces I would do would not be my norm- I would show diversity in my portraits along with a strong message that anyone could understand.

I especially needed the trust of the hospital to allow me to my very large, very prominent showcase piece for the first-floor main hallway. I wanted to do two larger-than-life horses- not scary, wild ones, but gentle and loving. Like the horses i spent much of my childhood with.

It was a stretch, but thankfully the hospital let me do it!

Working on my showcase piece- two larger-than-life horses for the 1st floor main corridor.

Each individual painting has it's own unique and optimistic message about life, love and the wisdom that comes with age and experience. A LOT of thought went into planning what messages were to be shown and how to carefully do so within the hospital's criteria. Showing human faces and figures is not usually a subject that works well in hospitals, so I had to be extra careful to make sure my figurative paintings had a message far stronger than their visual for them to work.

As a whole, the paintings have a mission... to ignite a conversation among strangers, to change someones day for the better and to spread a little optimism in a sometimes scary place. The paintings are a celebration of life, love and finding beauty in the simple things. They are meant to unite people of all ages, backgrounds and color. They're a reminder of the most important things in life that lead to happiness... love, gratitude and giving back.

Through cheery colors, different subject matters and mixed mediums, it's up to the viewer to discover those hidden messages while they are waiting or wandering the halls. It is then that you will notice the hidden messages, sometime in collage, in symbolism, quotes or written words around the edge of the canvases. The hidden messages might not be obvious upon first sight, but that's what I wanted. I want the viewer to discover the message and interpret it in their own way.

"Garden of Wisdom"- Collage and paint featuring hundreds of women from around the world with hidden messages.

"Garden of Wisdom"- Collage and paint featuring hundreds of women from around the world with hidden messages.

"Garden of Wisdom"- Collage and paint featuring hundreds of women from around the world with hidden messages.

"Nicollet Ave", Acrylic on Canvas

"Tree of Life" in studio.

"Grandma's Garden"- I learned to paint florals for the Hospital! There were many practice versions done before I landed on this style!

"Grandma's Garden" Closeup Detail

"Laugh", "Hug" and "The Giver". Hidden messages written in English and Spanish along side panels.

"Laugh", "Hug" and "The Giver". Hidden messages written in English and Spanish along side panels.

Hey, if you've got to paint grasses, make them fun, right?!

My showcase piece, "Love is All You Need" is a very big 70"x82" acrylic/mixed media on canvas painting of.... HORSES! It was a risk for the hospital, who was originally skeptical of having horses in such a prominent space that everyone walks by each day. But luckily, the finished painting eased their fears. You don't need to be a horse lover to appreciate the gentle bond between these two besties. They invite you into their world with their velvety noses touching... the horse version of "hey, I'm glad you're with me". Everyone from the hospital loved it! I knew they would!

It was around 1am as I was finishing up this piece and a Beatles song, "All you need is love" came into play. I thought the lyrics were perfect for the message of this painting, so I even scribbled those words into the background with oil pastel. That is how I titled this piece, too. It all came together perfectly! You can see this painting in person on the first floor main corridor of the hospital... you can't miss it, it's huge!

Detail shot of "Love is All You Need"

"Love is All You Need"- Acrylic/Mixed Media on Canvas

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A super special thanks to Jantze Haley for picking me to be the artist for this special project! I am beyond honored. Thanks to Vicki Hovde for her expertise and feedback during the creative process that- without doubt- has made me a better artist! Last but not least, thanks to HCMC for trusting me with some fun new art that I hope brings happiness for years to come!

#HCMC #hennepincountymedicalcenter #valeriecarpender #originalartwork #horsepainting #hospitalart #minneapolis