Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Palmer.
Hi Catherine, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I come from a large family and I’m the youngest of 15, the baby. My family is creative and resourceful. I’m not the only artist in the family.
Growing up in the suburbs of Minneapolis, I went to school in the ’70s and ’80s. I gravitated toward art because I had a hard time learning, and I had specialized classes and tutors. I always did better with hands-on learning styles and loved making things from a young age.
I fell in love with art classes because in art you couldn’t really do anything wrong. I took every art class that was available in elementary through high school. I was one of those kids that always had sketchbooks. I felt lucky because there was a ton of art programming.
In 1987, I was awarded a scholarship to Split Rock artist retreat and went up to Duluth for a week. That was my first taste of an artist’s life. I want to say we made sculptures out of Styrofoam. It was actually quite terrible. However, I did get to explore some cool art galleries and come down to the cities and check out the Walker Art Museum. While we were in the city, the school bus was parked next to Loring Park, it was a gay hang-out at the time. I remember vividly one of the girls refused to get off the bus because she thought she was going to get AIDS. This resonated with me because I would later come out as queer.
I wanted to be an artist, but I didn’t know how to navigate that. I started going to community college in my hometown, taking all the art classes that they offered. I fell in love with painting and drawing. I excelled in art, but not in all the other classes. I was determined to do everything on my own, those learning disabilities sure crept up on me. I enjoyed figure drawing classes, but when my math problems started dancing around on the page in front of me, I knew it was time to take a break.
I moved to Minneapolis and did what all 20-somethings of the time were doing. I came out of the closet like someone had thrown me out of a plane with cement boots: fast and furious, loud and proud. Most of my family found out that I was gay through a newspaper article that came out at the time about being young and queer. I became involved with dance culture, clubbing, and the queer community. I started working in a gay-owned coffee shop in Loring Park, and also at District 202, which was the Queer Youth Center (LGBTQ+). All the while, I was using art to process my feelings.
At 26, I went back to college and pursued my passions, this time finishing with a BFA in painting and drawing. Just before graduating from the University, I began working at Utrecht art supplies. I got my first art studio in 2002 with a group of coworkers. It smelled like cinnamon and garbage, but it was our studio and we loved it.
I exhibited my work in galleries and alternative spaces around the Twin Cities beginning in 1999. In 2009, I joined and then became a committee member of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association. I participated in an artist residency in 2010 in Carrizozo, New Mexico. I moved my studio to the Solar Arts Building and became active in the Northeast Arts District in 2012.
In 2015/16 I joined Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota and took part in their mentorship program, joining the Board of WARM in 2016/17. I helped start On Location Drawing Co-op 2016. I volunteered as a gallery attendant at the Minnesota Museum of American Art 2017/18. I started volunteering and then working for The Show Gallery Lowertown.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Between my early struggles with learning disabilities, and later coming out as queer there were struggles, but art was always a constant.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My paintings are bright and colorful. I work from purely abstract to landscape, abstract landscapes, figurative, and figurative abstractions to a social realist style. The one consistent thing in my work is vivid color. I am an intuitive, cathartic painter who allows my mood to direct the work. Normally, I start with a really loose idea and then work out a series of paintings based on the initial idea. I’m best known for my figurative abstractions, but I’m also known for my abstract cityscape-style paintings.
I’m a strong believer in radical inclusion. I’m a cheerleader and encourage other creative folks to pursue their best artistic lives. And I very much like the concept “That we all do better when we all do better” (Paul Wellstone). I’m engaged in my creative community.
Currently, I am an active member of Art to Change the World. I also work as an inclusivity coordinator for The Show Gallery Lowertown. I have been teaching painting classes through Minneapolis continuing education and a variety of other galleries and community centers. I have a studio in the Solar Arts Building and you can find me there during Art-a-Whirl, and at open studio events most First Thursdays and Second Saturdays of the month.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
I had a squirrel named Chip.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://catherineapalmer.blogspot.com/
- Instagram: @paintingscatherinepalmer
- Facebook: @CatherineAPalmerPainting
- Other: https://nemaa.org/artists/catherine-palmer/
