Valerie Orlemann
Mesa II        24 x 30
Oil on canvas
Petroglyphs  
(SOLD)
 Atmospheric
Images of new
paintings to be
uploaded.....
Biography
I’m a realist landscape painter.  My work is traditional in the sense that I
communicate through recognizable images and try to capture a realistic sense
of light, color and place.   My paintings are contemporary in the sense that I
paint what’s there now (with a little artistic license).  I paint western landscapes,
but I don’t try to recreate the old west.   Unlike the great western painters of the
last century, I tend to focus on landscape rather than figures.  I feel that the
grandeur and emptiness of the modern western landscape are inspiring on
their own terms.

I studied art at the University of Utah, completing most of the BFA program
before parenthood (and a new job for my husband in Escalante) redirected my
artistic efforts.  I wound up far away from art school, but surrounded by beautiful
landscapes to paint.  With our little girl in tow, my husband and I have explored
much of southern Utah and the four corners.  Out in the field and back in my
studio (painting during naps), I’ve tried to capture what I find most engaging in
the landscape around me.  

While I am still fairly new as a professional artist, my work has received some
recognition.  I have won awards in the professional division at the River Runner’
s Art Show in Green River (including 1st place, 2008) and awards for plein air
painting at the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Escalante Canyons Art Festival.  I was
jury-selected to participate in the 22nd Annual Robert N. and Peggy Sears
Dixie Invitational, the St. George Art Festival, the Cedar City Arts Committee’s
65th Annual Art Exhibit, the Provo Freedom Festival art exhibit, and the
Outdoor Painters’ Society’s Plein Air Southwest 2009.  I was also chosen to be
Artist in Residence in the San Juan Public Lands Center’s Aspen Guard
Station program (September, 2006), and at Mesa Verde National Park (May,
2008).