Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.png
Interior Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.jpeg
Detail Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150.png
Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.png
Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.png
Interior Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.jpeg
Detail Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150.png
Val Frank Ol Stump 2 Remembers Ink Colored Pencil Unframed print on Velvet Arches archival Watercolor Paper 12 x 8.5 2011 150 copy.png

Val Frank , 'Ol Stump 2' 'Remembers', Ink, Colored Pencil, Unframed print on Velvet Arches, archival Watercolor Paper, 12" x 8.5".5, 2011

from $150.00

Val Frank—a longtime friend, artist, and fellow MCAD graduate (’85)—is exhibiting a body of oil paintings on canvas and panel. Val spent more than 20 years teaching painting at the University of Minnesota Art School, passing on her deep knowledge and commitment to the medium to generations of students.

Val’s work is deeply rooted in the forms of nature. Often described as sensuous, her paintings also incorporate elements of humor, darkness, and the grotesque. She draws inspiration from botanical forms, natural systems, and repeating patterns found in the natural world. The Stump is a striking example of how Val transforms a weather-worn tree stump through expressive color and line. As the artist explains, “This particular stump, across the river from my sister’s cabin in Idaho, became a character—Ol’ Stump—after many drawings.”

When looking closely at the works in this exhibition, one might sense a kind of “trickster” presence—but it is the artist herself who fulfills that role. Val observes what is often overlooked in nature and gathers forms that might seem ordinary or obscure: a hollowed tree, a twisted root, an unexpected configuration of natural elements. Through the transformative power of painting, she reveals these forms in ways we could never have imagined on our own.

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Val Frank—a longtime friend, artist, and fellow MCAD graduate (’85)—is exhibiting a body of oil paintings on canvas and panel. Val spent more than 20 years teaching painting at the University of Minnesota Art School, passing on her deep knowledge and commitment to the medium to generations of students.

Val’s work is deeply rooted in the forms of nature. Often described as sensuous, her paintings also incorporate elements of humor, darkness, and the grotesque. She draws inspiration from botanical forms, natural systems, and repeating patterns found in the natural world. The Stump is a striking example of how Val transforms a weather-worn tree stump through expressive color and line. As the artist explains, “This particular stump, across the river from my sister’s cabin in Idaho, became a character—Ol’ Stump—after many drawings.”

When looking closely at the works in this exhibition, one might sense a kind of “trickster” presence—but it is the artist herself who fulfills that role. Val observes what is often overlooked in nature and gathers forms that might seem ordinary or obscure: a hollowed tree, a twisted root, an unexpected configuration of natural elements. Through the transformative power of painting, she reveals these forms in ways we could never have imagined on our own.

Val Frank 

These particular works show a turning away from my previous  botanically derived paintings, toward an interest in the human condition and the idea of storytelling. This particular stump across the river from my sister's cabin in Idaho, became a character, "Ol' Stump", after many drawings of it. The same thing occurred with the "Lil' Ducky"-Voila! a character in these "Comedy of Errors" paintings, I was influenced by the Chicago Imagists: Jim Nutt, Roger Brown and especially Peter Saul.The "Trickster" for me is a Raven, though frequently portrayed as a Coyote. This figure in Native lore has always held a particular fascination for me.