Val Burtnik finds comfort in the abstract
It’s a typical rainy Vancouver evening in January as I make my way to Granville Island’s Studio 13 to meet up with artist Valerie Burtnik or @abstractvall as she’s affectionately known on instagram. Val has been on quite the journey the past few years (as many of us have) navigating through the pandemic and coming out the side with many life shifts along the way.
As someone whose passion for fitness bled into all corners of her life, a challenge to her health required a shift in focus and a re prioritisation of where her energies were best suited to fit with the new rhythms her body was calling for. She now works from home in sales and is no longer on her feet all day and since leaving fitness has had more room for art, spending every other weekend at Studio 13 where she paints and sells artwork, by herself and two other local abstract and landscape artists, Skai and Alice respectively. Val says, “I feel like I’m stepping into a whole new world after moving from the fitness world into the artistic world. It’s cool how you can be so many versions of yourself and to feel how I am here in this space. I don’t feel like I need to race to keep up anymore, instead I need to slow down.”
“Some people like to read or journal and for me it’s painting. It sparks joy in me and helps me to process things, it’s almost meditative in a sense. I used to paint when I was younger and only just picked it up again 5 years ago with more of a focus the past couple of years throughout my health issues. Being creative is so important for your mental health too and I am an advocate for that.”
Skai and Val will often paint together at Studio 13, bouncing off one another. For Val she generally paints with acrylics in an abstract style, experimenting with different techniques such as pouring, taping, dimension and silhouette. She takes me through a few of her pieces and her process. “I have a blend in approaches, sometimes I will have an idea behind what I’m working towards and sometimes I will see it evolve and change as I progress”. Val tells me that Skai has told her to “paint from your energy” of which you can clearly see and feel the impact of each piece in different ways.
“I would love to be able to sell enough artwork to do this full time. I’m building up a portfolio and I want to host paint nights that are focussed more upon expression and healing. I think a part of why people don’t paint is because there’s an underlying belief that they aren’t good at it. I want everyone to focus upon expression and painting from their feelings… As Bob Ross said, “there’s no mistakes, just happy accidents”. I want to show people that anybody can paint!”
To find out more about Val’s artwork you can follow her on instagram @abstractvall or find her in person at Studio 13 on Granville Island, Vancouver, BC.
Artwork Series Names:
Organised Chaos - Orange Artwork
Sonder - woman emerging from drip painting
Take a Breath - Latest artwork
