.png)
Where Art & Community Meet
Valerie Willson
Artist Statement
Etching developed for me in my twenties as an outgrowth of drawing because I wanted to see drawings as a finished work, something to frame. A similar transition occurred seven years ago, when after a long period of abstract oil painting, I decided to try something different: I took a still-life painting and created it as a photograph. My process requires taking a multitude of photos, each time adjusting stops and objects ever so slightly to create fascinating shifts in color and composition. I photograph at slow shutter speeds in natural light to create the glowing quality of light found in Renaissance still-life paintings. Now I am adding a wider range of objects, such as fruits and vegetables, to take advantage of the immediate nature of photography on very short-lived objects. I print my images on Epson velvet fine art paper, apply them to 2� deep wood panels, then finish with layers of varnish for a painterly look. I do not touch up my images with Photoshop�I want the art to be between me and the subject.
Artist Bio
Artist Medium(s)
Printmaking, Painting
Artist Links
http://www.valeriewillson.com; http://www.valeriewillsonphotography.com; https://www.facebook.com/valeriewillsonfineartist
I attended the University of Oregon and PWCA. During these years, I became fascinated with etching and began working in the medium commercially. I then moved to Ashland and began working at Southern Oregon State College where I studied lithography with a master teacher from New Mexico. In 1992, I moved to Vashon, hauling a large etching press with me, and with this press, several fellow artists and I started the Quartermaster Press. I have enjoyed a fulfilling career in the arts with recognition and support, including from the Pacific NW Museum and the Oregon Arts Commission. I have also sold extensively at shows across the country, and my national exposure includes being featured on La Quinta and Cherry Creek posters and selling a book of my art through Canadian Arts Prints.