Olya Konell is someone who tends to do more than one thing at a time, and she does them seriously.

She is a painter working in oil, acrylic, and mixed media. She is also a consultant who helps people and organizations think more clearly about what they’re doing and why. Somewhere in between, she grows food, builds systems, experiments relentlessly, and pays close attention to how things actually work in real life.

She describes herself as a polymath, which doesn’t mean dabbling or being scattered. It means developing real skill across different domains and then weaving them together. Art informs her business thinking. Systems thinking shows up in the garden. Observation, structure, and intuition apply everywhere, whether she’s composing a painting, designing a workflow, or figuring out why something isn’t working the way it should.

At the core of everything she does, is the belief: creativity is not optional. It’s how humans make sense of the world, solve problems, and move forward. For Olya, creativity isn’t limited to art. It shows up in strategy, in problem-solving, in tending land, in building processes that actually hold up over time.

Her life is lived across multiple canvases. The studio, the garden, the workshop, the planning table. Each one informs the others. This integrated way of living allows her to notice patterns and connections that are easy to miss when you stay inside a single lane.

Through her art, consulting, writing, and teaching, Olya invites others to slow down, pay attention, and cultivate wisdom. Not to do more things, but to do the right things more thoughtfully, with care, curiosity, and intention.