Valerie Craig has drawn and painted nearly all her life. Her oil and watercolor paintings are suffused with soft light and convey a sensitive approach. Craig's subject matter is varied and includes still-life, landscapes and street scenes.

Valerie Craig has had more than twenty years in the field to date. Craig has studied with accomplished artists, including Scott Christensen, Michael Doyle and Kenn Backhaus. Like most artists, Craig continues to be a student of art, always reaching for a higher level of excellence. 

In 1998, Craig left her career in nursing administration to pursue her passion for painting and her love of the outdoors. She feels that her best expressions happen when she is on location and can directly sense the mood and atmosphere of a particular scene. Whether painting vast open areas or intimate spaces, she finds that capturing light and color is best accomplished through close observation and careful study.

Valerie paints en plein air whenever she can, then often completes larger canvasses in the studio. Craig has traveled frequently to Ireland and also within the United States, teaching workshops and seeking inspiration and opportunities to paint in the field. She values her teaching and administrative experiences as having increased her perspective as an educator and artist.

Honors include the Artists' Choice Award in the 2010 Easton Plein Air Festival, First Place in the 2009 Wayne Plein Air Festival, Runner Up to Best in Show in the 2009 American Women Artists Show, and Best in Show in the 2008 Wayne Plein Air Festival.

Valerie lives in St. Davids, Pennsylvania with her husband Peter.

Artist's Statement

I am seldom happier than when I am out in a field, capturing the sunlight and atmosphere on canvas, listening to the sounds of nature and letting my thoughts run free. My aim is to carefully observe my subject, whether it be a still-life or landscape, appreciate the response I feel and somehow convey the essence of a place or time of day with paint. If I can evoke an emotional response in the viewer, I have been successful.

One Person and Featured Shows

Newman & Saunders Galleries, Wayne, PA 2010
Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2006 - 2010
Peter McPhee Fine Arts Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ 2007 - 2010
Art Access Gallery Landscape Show, Bexley, OH- 2008, 2009
Tyme Gallery, Haverford, PA - 2005
Rosemont School of the Holy Child, Rosemont, PA - 2005
Episcopal Academy, Merion, PA - 2001
Forster's Framing, Wayne, PA - 1999, 2003
The William Ris Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ - 1998, 2001
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church - 1996
Carolina's Restaurant, Radnor, PA - 1995
The Gallery, Congregation Beth Orr, Springhouse, PA - 1993
Slice of Heaven Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA - 1992
Carol Schwartz Gallery, Philadelphia, PA - 1991
Side Porch Gallery, Fairfax, VA - 1990

Honors and Awards

Artists' Choice Award, Plein Air Easton, MD - 2010
First Place, Wayne Plein Air - 2010
Runner Up (to Best in Show), American Women Artists' Show - 2009
Honorable Mention, Wayne Plein Air Festival, PA 2009
Radnor Hotel Award, Wayne Art Center- 2008
Newman & Saunders Award, Wayne Art Center Juried Members Show - 2008
Best in Show, Wayne Plein Air Festival, PA- 2008
Honorable Mention, Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival - 2008
Distinguished Artist, American Cancer Society, Philadelphia Chapter - 2008
Second Place, Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival- 2007
Wayne Art Center Award, Expressions of Radnor, Wayne Art Center - 2007
Honorable Mention- Delaware Art League - 2006
Great Frame-Up Award- Wayne Art Center - 2006
Honorable Mention- Delaware Art League - 2006
Petersen's Kitchen's Award, Main Line Art Center - 2004
Alternative Gift Market Cards, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church - 1997, 1999-2004
Holiday Cards Poster Artist, Main Line YMCA - 1998
Distinguished Artist, American Cancer Society, Philadelphia Division's 1995
Honorable Mention, Wayne Arts Center Fall Member's Juried Show - 1994
Selected for Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation's Promotional Campaign - 1993
Second Place, Ocean City Regional Show - 1993
Honorable Mention: Side Porch Gallery, Fairfax, VA - 1991
Third Place Watercolor: Stone Harbor Annual Art Show - 1990
First Place Mixed Media: Chestnut Hill Art Show - 1990
Anna W. Clark Award for Excellence in Watercolor: Chestnut Hill Art Show - 1989, 1990
Best in Show - Watercolor: Avalon Art Show - 1989
Honorable Mention: South Jersey Fine Arts - 1989

Juried Shows

American Women Artists National Juried Show, 2009
Art of the Still Life, Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA 2009
All Paintings Great and Small, Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, Ct 2008
Landscapes for Landsakes, Greenwich, NY, 2008, 2009
Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival 2007-2009
Easton, MD Plein Air Festival 2007
Living with Art, Main Line Art Center - 2007
Annapolis Plein Air Festival - 2006
Immaculata University, Malvern, PA - 2005-2007
Notre Dame Academy, Rosemont, PA - 2004-2009
Daylesford Abbey, Paoli, PA - 2000-2005, 2007
Perkins Art Center, Moorestown, NJ - 1998
Wayne Art Center, PA - 1996-97, 1999-2008
American College Annual Art Show, Bryn Mawr, PA - 1994
Ocean City Arts Center Invitational, Ocean City, NJ - 1993
Philadelphia Art Show - 1992, 1994-95
Pennsylvania Water Color Club Annual - 1992
Main Line Arts Center, PA - 1992, 1999, 2001
Stone Harbor Annual Art Show, NJ - 1990-91
Manayunk Arts Festival, PA - 1990-91, 1993
Doylestown Art League Juried Show - 1989-93
Harvey Cedars Art Show, NJ - 1989
Seawall Arts Festival, Portsmouth, VA - 1988
Ghent Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA - 1986-89
Occasion for the Arts, Williamsburg, VA - 1987

Representation

Art Access Gallery, Bexley, OH
Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Essex Fine Art Gallery, Montclair, NJ
Newman & Saunders Galleries, Wayne, PA
Parker Gallery, St. Simons Island, GA
Peter McPhee Fine Arts, Stone Harbor, NJ
Warm Springs Gallery, Charlottesville, VA
The Wit Gallery, Lennox, MA

Permanent Collections

Academy Art Museum, Easton, MD
United States Coast Guard, Portsmouth, VA
United Bank of Virginia, Norfolk, VA
Pennsylvania Trust Company, Radnor, PA

Education

Bachelor of Science, Georgetown University
Master of Science, Catholic University