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"As a multidisciplinary artist currently focused on abstract painting, I explore the psychology of transformation through layered compositions that evoke emotional and environmental shifts. I work with movement, depth, and light, using texture and metal leaf to suggest organic change. The unpredictable way metal leaf catches light creates surfaces that feel molten—midway between solid and liquid—inviting reflection on impermanence and possibility. My inspiration often comes from nature’s own language of transformation: rivers carving canyons, waves reshaping shorelines, vines overtaking the forgotten. These forces mirror our inner lives—subtle, seismic, and always in motion.
Emerging from a personal search for peace and contentment, my paintings offer a space for introspection and renewal. Titles act as journal prompts, and the visual language encourages emotional engagement and self-inquiry. Each layer becomes a record of change, each piece a conversation about resilience and becoming. A guiding belief in my work—and my life—comes from Robert Louis Stevenson: “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” That idea flows through every brushstroke, as I paint the energy between who we are and who we might yet become."
Valerie Ostenak
Niwot, CO
"Be Inspired by Possibility."
Valerie Ostenak is an award-winning painter and sculptor whose abstract works are inspired by the natural world—from the movement of water to the vastness of the cosmos. Growing up in the Arizona desert, she developed a profound connection to water—both its scarcity and its power—which continues to shape her artistic vision. Her work has been published widely—in Vogue UK, Harper’s Bazaar, The World of Interiors, Tatler, Marie Claire, and over a dozen books on contemporary art jewelry and blacksmithing. She has exhibited internationally at SOFA Chicago and Milan Fashion Week, and was invited to the XV Florence Biennale. Her accolades include the Saul Bell Design Award, the Centurion Emerging Designer Award, and the Halstead Jewelry Design & Business Development Grant. Ostenak has also created public art for Rockefeller Center and New Mexico Art in Public Places, taught workshops nationwide, and completed residencies in the UK and Italy."As a multidisciplinary artist currently focused on abstract painting, I explore the psychology of transformation through layered compositions that evoke emotional and environmental shifts. I work with movement, depth, and light, using texture and metal leaf to suggest organic change. The unpredictable way metal leaf catches light creates surfaces that feel molten—midway between solid and liquid—inviting reflection on impermanence and possibility. My inspiration often comes from nature’s own language of transformation: rivers carving canyons, waves reshaping shorelines, vines overtaking the forgotten. These forces mirror our inner lives—subtle, seismic, and always in motion.
Emerging from a personal search for peace and contentment, my paintings offer a space for introspection and renewal. Titles act as journal prompts, and the visual language encourages emotional engagement and self-inquiry. Each layer becomes a record of change, each piece a conversation about resilience and becoming. A guiding belief in my work—and my life—comes from Robert Louis Stevenson: “To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life.” That idea flows through every brushstroke, as I paint the energy between who we are and who we might yet become."
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Wescover creator since 2022
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