Valerie Berkely
Wausau, Wisconsin
Artist Valerie Berkely creates tonalist landscapes and nature scenes shaped by intuition, mood, and a restrained palette. "What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence,” says Valerie, echoing the quiet poetry that guides her work. Inspired early on by her artist grandmother and a life-changing encounter with Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago, she knew painting would become her path. She builds her surfaces with transparent hues, finger painting in oil while glazing and buffing layers to create depth and atmosphere. Valerie works from her 1920s Craftsman home studio, where the slightly uneven floors keep her attentive to every horizon line. She also spends summers at her Lake Effect Art Studio along the shores of Lake Superior, painting on a repurposed maple butcher block table that stretches twelve feet long. Outside the studio, she teaches painting across all media, guiding beginners with patience and clarity. She also loves cooking and jokes that if you can mix colors, you can mix flavors.
Artist Statement
I have been studying Tonalism, the art movement rooted in intuition and mood, expressed through abstracted landscapes and a limited palette. I work primarily with transparent hues, finger painting in oil while buffing and glazing layers to build depth. In a single studio session, I strive to create a beautiful surface that evokes a distinct feeling. Sometimes a pre-textured ground guides my intuition. Other times, a velvety smooth canvas offers just the right touch. Claude Monet once said, "What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence," and that sentiment deeply resonates with me.
My grandmother was an artist and let me play with her professional supplies at a very young age. My first art epiphany came when I saw Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago. It bowled me over. I actually fell down. In that moment, I knew I was meant to become a painter.
My grandmother was an artist and let me play with her professional supplies at a very young age. My first art epiphany came when I saw Seurat's La Grande Jatte at the Art Institute of Chicago. It bowled me over. I actually fell down. In that moment, I knew I was meant to become a painter.
Artist Background
University of Wisconsin-Superior
Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1976
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
, 1980
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