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Monday 24 June 2013

Featured Artist: Valerie Kent

Name of Artist

  
Valerie Kent
 Facebook Page  
valeriekentworkshops
Contact (phone and e mail)
 
Valerie Kent is an experienced artist and teacher who paints en plein air and in the studio. She studied in Montreal at Ecole des Beaux Arts and Concordia University, in Toronto at York University, University of Toronto, Ryerson University and Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, in Nova Scotia at St. Francis Xavier University and at the University of Iowa.
Valerie paints in watercolours, acrylics, oils and mixed media. She enjoys diverse subject matter, experimenting with mixed and multi-media and incorporating found environmentally friendly materials.

Where were you born? 
 
 I was born in Tokai, Hungary which is wine growing country and is famous for the Tokai wines.
 
If you could have an art related vacation anywhere in the world where would you go and why? 
 I have been to the south of France several times leading artist workshops, and it is definitely my favourite place so far.  It is famed for its beautiful light and its extraordinary land forms, such as the Verdun Gorge and the beautiful rivers, the quaint stone villages in the Luberon Mountains such as
Le Baux, and the many little markets with their colourful and fresh produce. It is an artist’s paradise:  there is something for everyone,  stunning landscapes, people watching and painting, and still life galore.
 
What’s your favourite thing to create and why?
 I very much enjoy painting while under a shady tree, outdoors by a rushing river or a waterfall.  I love the sounds of it and like painting the moving waters.
 
How did you get your start in the world of art?
 I started selling paintings at age 5 because my cousin had a beauty salon where I would hang out and paint little ballerinas.  The clients were nice and to humour me they would buy my artwork for a penny.  It was quite an incentive because 5 pennies got me an ice cream cone. 
 
Do you have go-to paints/colors that you love to use in your art work?
 There are a few newer colours that I have added to my palette which I did not use, or mixed my own versions.  I love perylene green which is a dark green, almost black and red oxide which I have used as an underpainting for my acrylics and oils. 
 
Who has been your biggest inspiration as an artist? 
My father painted dream scenes of his childhood and my mother loved to design clothing.  They were always encouraging me to do drawings and to paint. My father used to tell me stories about his father who painted the scenes in churches.  He was known for that.
 
 
What have been some of your crowning achievements?
 Some of the really fun things that I loved to paint have been painting during the moose era in Toronto when I did two of the moose, Wolfgang Amadeus Moosart and The King (the Elvis moose).  I have been in huge art shows in Korea and Japan and I liked that.  Now I am painting a piano in art deco style for the Five Senses Festival at the Richmond Hill Centre for Performing Arts in Richmond Hill for August 16 and 17. I also truly love to teach art courses and workshops and love travelling
to teach them here, around Ontario and around the world.
 
If you could have three wishes as an artist, what would they be?
 I am very satisfied with my life as a practicing artist.  No matter how busy I get, what sadness comes and what joys follow, having my art to go to is what I wish for everyone.  It is not really all about selling the work, but having the power to create which is a wonderful feeling. I wish that I would always continue to appreciate the process and have friends and students to paint with.
 
What is the best advice that you have received as an artist?
 
I think the best advice is never to judge your painting until it is finished.  Give each work a chance and if it does not come out right start a new one.  John G. Roberts, once a head of the Famous
Artists School in New York and Amsterdam, told me, if you get one out of ten that works, that is really great.  This way you can experiment, be free to make mistakes, or use materials or see things in new ways and not worry about having to create a masterpiece every time you do a new
work.
 
What colour best describes your personality?
 
I think red is my accent colour.  When I get excited about an artwork and love doing it I feel red or I am teaching a class and everyone is working on their art so well,  I feel red.  At my best when I am very outgoing and happy I am very red.
 
Thank you Valerie

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