I was born in Maryland and attended public school and college here in Maryland also. I enjoyed growing up near so many different types of landscapes. I spent a lot of time in downtown Washington DC learning about our country’s history, visiting the monuments and galleries and generally enjoying the city culture. I looked forward to trips to the local beaches and reveled in my trips to the mountains and countryside of Maryland.

My artistic interest began at age 13 when my next door neighbor, taught me to paint in oils. I loved the way the paint felt on the brush then, and I still do now.

Today I live in Frederick, Maryland on a horse farm with my family. I paint in a studio up over our garage where I can watch our horses grazing. In recent years I have focused on equine paintings, florals and landscapes. Occasionally, I revisit the still life studies that my neighbor taught me were so important to the beginning artist. She taught me that they help establish an eye for composition and color. I like to think that I will always want to learn more about my craft and for that reason I like to go back to those early lessons to refresh my focus.

I attend art classes at the local college whenever I can and invite other local artists to paint with me here in my studio. The images I like to paint are images that seem to have a sense of drama to them. Usually a single image sparks my enthusiasm and I try to paint the energy that I feel from that image, whether it’s a horse or a flower or a barn in the country.

I start with a layout on canvas in vine charcoal to establish the compositional elements. Next, I block in the negative space and major shadows in acrylic paint and then finish with the oils. It is an inspired process for me. I like the image to “pop” when viewed and so I make alterations as I go. I allow my intuition to guide me and consequently I must relinquish my “planning” as needed. I protect my paintings with a damar varnish.

Valerie A. Frank