VALERIE’S BIO
Valerie, born in London in 1954, painted extensively as a child and her first commission was at age 9, to paint a corridor wall in a kindergarten. She excelled in art at school and looked set for an art career, however life so often has other plans for us! During her twenties and thirties, Valerie kept her love of art alive by attending classes and courses in watercolour and colour therapy.
In 2006 Valerie began a self-styled training in acrylic painting, drawing, mixed media, and more recently oils, seeking out the teachers and mentors who could help her on her artistic journey, including a two year training with artist Trevor Waugh and a life changing Diploma course with the Norfolk School of Painting and Martin Kinnear.
Valerie’s work and life background has been very varied and colourful, and she feels that she has drawn on these experiences in her unconventional outlook and her art works. “For me the challenge is to express, through my art, the awareness of spirit, the sense and mystery of place, and of what lies behind and beyond the physical world.”
Currently living, with husband Mark, in the New Forest, Hampshire, Valerie paints from her home studio and plein air whenever she can.
Valerie exhibits regularly in Hampshire Open Studios, National Art Fairs, online and in regional art exhibitions and her works are currently in several UK private collections.
2022 – 2023. Current events planned are Bath Art Fair 24th to 26th February 23 and Hampshire Open Studios in August 2023. More dates to be added soon.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am always seeking to express the emotional connection I feel when out in the natural world; the peace; the spirit and sense of place, and of what lies beyond the purely physical.
I look for those magical moments on my walks:- the weird, wonderful, majestic tree shapes, rich mosses adorning their sides; the way the light shines through the trees casting deep shadows; the geometry of field boundaries and the big skies; peaceful reflections in water and the symbols that appear in the play between light and shade.
Working from black and white photo reference and sketches, I choose the colours to suggest a particular mood or feeling, which may be very different from the natural colour. Working with the different colour palettes also affects my mood and is part of the joy of painting. I use mainly rich, vibrant oil paint, which allows the paintings to slowly evolve and come into being making each painting unique and spacial.
How we experience a painting is very personal – I hope that my artworks create a moment of connection for you, the viewer; a reminder that in all the busyness of our lives there is time to stop and just be, a moment perhaps of peace; of being transported to a special place; and yes perhaps a little magic.