Biography

Valerie Harper is a professional artist living near the shore of the St Lawrence River in Quebec. Her second home is in Sydney, Australia. For most of her life she has lived near the water, the oceans of Perth, Australia as well as the rocky shorelines of Bermuda, England and British Columbia. She is inspired by the beautiful waterscapes and landscapes she encounters through her travels and is particularly drawn to "water and rocks" - "motion and shapes". Her work is driven by the desire to capture the mood, the tranquility and sense of passion in each painting.

Valerie has been painting in water media for over 35 years, aspiring to master the techniques of controlling the spontaneous character of watercolour as well as layering many glazes of acrylic on wood panel to achieve jewel like colour and richness. She has taught watercolour for many years and has given demonstrations and workshops in Canada and the U.S.

When Valerie is not in her studio painting, she collects sea glass along Australia's shoreline. She is seduced by these frosted gems which have been tumbled against rocks and sand for tens or hundreds of years.

From the resulting smoothly shaped and textured jewels, Valerie carefully constructs sea glass sculptures that have a sense of movement which mirrors the sea. The sculptures complement her paintings which frequently

depict the wild and raw nature of the ocean and its coastlines.

Artists Statement:

For me there is nothing comparable to creating a completely personal and original piece of artwork!

Whether I am sculpting the treasures of sea glass found along a shore or painting a part of the coastline on my canvas, I strive to portray the mood, emotion and atmosphere I feel in that moment in time.

I hope my viewers feel the waves explode, the mist of the water tumbling down a rocky cliff, or the serenity of a private place. This is the connection I hope to make and undoubtedly the intrinsic value of art itself.

Memberships:

Elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, CSPWC.
Elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, SCA.
Elected member and Past-President of the Lakeshore Association of Artists, LAA.

Awards:

2018 - Green Mountain Watercolour Juried Exhibition
Waitsfield, Vermont, USA
Mary and Richard Brothers Award
"Tide Pools"

2014 - XXX1 Salon annuel de la Societe Canadienne de l'aquarelle
Montreal, Quebec
Honourable Mention
"Down Rush"

2013 - Societe Canadienne de l'aquarelle
Montreal, Quebec
Jean-Paul Ladouceur Award of Excellence
"Walkabout"

2013 - Les Amis du Pinceau
Quebec
1st Place, Professional
"Free Falling"

2012 - Societe Canadienne de l'aquarelle
Montreal, Quebec
3rd Place
"Cascade"

Publications:

The Best of Watercolour "Splash 16", Exploring Textures, North Light Books Publication

Acrylic Works 7 - Artist Magazine, Colour and Light - August 2020

Collections:

The National Diploma Collection
CSPWC/SCPA.