Artist Bio
Vancouver Island based Muralist and Oil painter Valerie Strom creates art that is inspired by her deep love of people and the human experience. She designs paintings that evoke emotion and focus on colour, loose brush strokes and warm light. Growing up in a family with a mother that immigrated from Mexico she lived between two cultures and frequently travelled to a small village in Mexico that she also called home. Her paintings often feature indigenous women from Mexico hoping to shed light on their strength.
A self taught artist, Valerie started drawing in elementary school but took up painting in 2019 and fell in love with oil paint. She has participated in several Juried art shows including the Cowichan Valley Fine Arts Show and the Sooke Fine Arts show.
She has painted murals in Canada and internationally in Mexico, and has collectors worldwide.
Artist Statement
The written language is not my strong suit, it never has been. I prefer the visual language, the emotional language. Painting is my method of communicating and making sense of my innermost experience to myself and the world. Growing up with two cultures and two languages has given me a deep sense of who I am and how intricate and strong people are. Regardless of where we come from we are all connected in our experience of the same emotions and of the world we live in. I believe art helps describe what you cannot describe in simple words. These paintings are meant to help people put their finger on an emotion and for them to say “that’s it, that describes what I am feeling”.