About Me

Many of the colors, styles and subjects in Valerie’s paintings
are reflective of her experiences as a young child running
barefoot chasing butterflies in Okinawa and as an older child
and teen growing and learning how to survive on the streets of
Tokyo. When returning to her native US she found herself
without many of the nuances that were a natural part of her
fellow citizens which is one explanation for the tilt of the
visions within her art work.

Valerie attributes her devotion to art as beginning while being
forced to sit still for long periods of time as a child and
watching the artist charged with capturing her on a canvas.
His mentoring left her with a solid foundation and the
understanding that art allowed for the artist to follow
wherever the paint led.

Over the years she has been involved with a variety of refugee
issues including the plight of Salvadorian and other Central
American refugees. The Darfur Series reflects her becoming
entwined in both the pain and hope that she sees existing
simultaneously within the eyes of the people of Darfur.
Painting them has presented a challenge by requiring that she
eventually solve the “simultaneous” puzzle and adequately
represent their message of both incredible pain and simple
hope. She hopes that her work will help to open eyes and
promote empathy leading to action.

About me