Featured Artist: Valerie Kent

VALERIE KENT B.Ed., B.F.A., M.F.A.,O.C.T. presents workshops to art societies and colleges. Member of IAOCA International Association of Contemporary Artists (Japan), winning an Award at the Kyoto Art Museum Annex, juried into the Seoul International Open Art Fair in Korea and will exhibit in Korea in 2014. Certified Golden Educator.

 

Tell us about your most memorable/ or funniest moment that has happened in a previous studio Tour

I have been party to many a remarkable and memorable moments in the Studio Tour.  I have had the

privilege of being in it since its inception.  When someone loves my work and then wants to adopt it

there is a wonderful bond that is set up.  I find it heartwarming when those who have purchased pieces return year after year, and even if a particular year they do not purchase a piece, they stop by to say hello and see what is being offered this year.  I cannot mention persons by name, but they do become my patrons and art family.  I think they know who they are.  I just want to take this opportunity to thank those who care enough to visit and to purchase my work.

Also give us 3 interesting/ unusual facts about your chosen medium/ art form or the materials you use or the way in which you work

I do paint in several mediums and sometimes in a combination as in mixed media.  I always use the best quality materials.  There are no ifs, ands, or buts in that.  I will never compromise the quality of an artwork. Some of my mixed media pieces had everything from egg shells from my sister Kate's farm, to dried foliage and flower petals, to sand, (before the companies came out with pumice) and glass beads, wool, string and so very much more.  I create the archival quality by covering it all with Golden gels and pastes.  I enjoy doing mono printing painting in soap on plexiglas plates and then printing the image.  The newest way to do that is slightly different in that we now can buy a Gelli plate and print using Golden open acrylics.  This is such fun to do and creates  a very interesting image.  My newest work is both outdoor plein air painting and I take the time to get out into the countryside to paint and also my new Marketplace Series which will be shown in Amsterdam in a solo show on Oct. 10th.  I am so  excited.  

 

 

www.valeriekent.com artistvalerie@yahoo.ca 647 223 5531 

Featured Artist: Valerie Kent

Name of Artist

  

Valerie Kent

Website:  www.valeriekent.com

 Facebook Page  
valeriekentworkshops

Blog: www.valeriekent.com  


Contact (phone and e mail)

artistvalerie@yahoo.ca

647 223 5531

 
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