Meet Christiane Palpant | Artist, Professor, Business Leader

We had the good fortune of connecting with Christiane Palpant and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Christiane, do you have a budget? how do you think about personal finances?
The question of budget is a powerful concept and is not an easy answer for most creative ventures. By design the creative right brain and spreadsheet left brain often don’t meet in the middle. For 25 years, I led a successful left brained job in financial services, but after a near-death experience I decided it was time to seek my real passion for painting, travel, and teaching.

Part of my new goal was to customize a van for travel to all 50 states in the US and paint the horizon from each state! The jump to that new landscape seemed like a figurative plunge from a 3,000-foot cliff. I knew I needed a safety net, so I dutifully created a spreadsheet and carefully planned for my new budget. This was in June of 2021.

Our economy has had some poignant shifts during the past year and a half: supply chain shortages, sky rocketing building supply prices, gas price hikes, and inflation. The safety net that I had created developed a giant hole. It felt like I fell through that first net and went on a blood curdling free fall.

During my health journey, which proceeded this new chapter, it was necessary to train my mind to ask the question, “What CAN I do?” Rather than focus on “can’t” because a negative focus can be debilitating. Similarly, in this new chapter while free falling, I asked myself, “What can I do?” It was with this positive mind set that I was able to discover new and rich opportunities for teaching and exhibiting my art.

On my drive in Millicent the van to the first 33 states, I had created paintings from each of the states. Very excitingly, nearly all of those paintings have sold. The large format paintings from that trip will be exhibited at Agora Gallery in New York City. The moral of this story is that taking a risk can have incredible setbacks, but there are beautiful silver lining moments if we keep our eyes open for them.

Yes, we should build the spreadsheets and plan our future, but also be flexible to make the changes when life hands us very different circumstances. There are 17 states left on my rolling art studio on wheels. You can follow the tour on:

Website: https://palpantart.com/christiane-palpant
Instagram: Christiane.Palpant
Facebook: Christiane Palpant

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
During my 25-year corporate career, I was able to visit all 50 states for client meetings, but I was always looking at the gorgeous landscape from a boardroom window. Every corner of the U.S. is captivating and incredibly diverse. After a lengthy health crisis punctuated by a near death experience, I birthed the idea to take off the suit jacket, customize a cargo van into an RV, name her Millicent, and paint in all 50 states of the US. It wasn’t as easy as that, there were many setbacks, but I continued pushing on.

My art has continued to develop as a result of my passion for sunrises and sunsets. I find them to be a powerful reminder that the sun will always rise, and the beauty of the moment gives such incredible hope. My work uniquely combines abstract horizons with thought provoking emotions and compelling titles.

Through this venture, artistic opportunities have evolved, and I have signed with a gallery in New York City and have exhibited in top-tier cities around the world: Atlanta, Paris, Napoli, Miami, Scottsdale, and Sacramento. My art showcases my passion for the sky, sunrises, sunsets, and clouds. To me, looking up provides such powerful encouragement, leading to resilience.

I’m proud of taking the risk to leave my multi-decade, Fortune 200 corporate job to explore creativity, drive across the country to paint horizons and give back through teaching at Georgia State University. I have currently completed 33 states and have 17 more to go. In addition to paintings, this journey will birth a book and interviews with other courageous women.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Inman Park one block from the eastside Beltline. We would start the morning by paying respects at the Martin Luther King Center and birth home. We would then walk to Krog Street Market, have lunch at Yalla, and shop at The Collective. Walking north on the Beltine, we would view the street art on the Highland and Freedom bridges. Say ‘hi’ to Kermit Walker the drummer and Miss Moonshine on her daily fiddler stroll. We would check out the dramatic stunts at the Old Fourth Ward Skatepark. Finally at Ponce City Market, an afternoon snack is a must at Bellina Alimentari and a macaroon at Saint-Germain Bakery. Segueing to evening festivities, we would have fried olives on the porch at Kitty Dare in Inman Park and drive to Kimball House in Decatur for oysters.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mother, Gail Palpant, is a professional portrait artist and has been an incredible inspiration. It wasn’t until focusing my intension on painting during the past few years, that I realized she had given me multi-decades of art lessons. Neither of us titled our daily creative conversations as ‘art lessons’, but they were and now I have realized how valuable they are to me.

Website: https://palpantart.com/christiane-palpant

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christiane.palpant/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christianepalpant/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christianepalpantart/

Youtube: @christianepalpant480

Image Credits
Christiane Palpant