Biography
A native of Utah, Valerie Lloyd was born in Salt Lake City, on Mother's Day, May 14, 1961. In 1967, her family relocated to Southern California, where she spent most of her childhood.
It wasn't until age seventeen, while taking an art class at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California, that she discovered her talent for drawing. The high school art teacher encouraged Valerie, and convinced her to pursue a career in art.
Creating a work of art with color pencil is time-consuming, and with her work in high demand, Valerie soon started reproducing her originals, and marketing limited and open editions. She soon became recognized as a successful entrepreneur and publisher of her own work.
The artists she most admires include Vincent an Gogh, Norman Rockwell, Georgia O'Keefe, and of course Linda Stevens, her high school art teacher who first recognized her special talent.
Though Valerie did take a few art classes while in high school and college and later attended animation school in Philadelphia, her technique and style is fresh and uniquely her own.
A note from Ms. Lloyd
Although I do enjoy working in watercolor, the two mediums which I most enjoy are graphite pencil and colored pencil. Though both are extremely challenging, I’ve always enjoyed the drama of black and white graphite images and although a difficult and unforgiving medium, my true favorite is colored pencil; mistakes cannot be erased or painted over, colors are not mixed in the safety of a pallet, but built up gradually by layering one color over another. I find the results extremely satisfying and rewarding.
My favorite subjects are flowers from around the world, children and quilted linens. I love to combine the innocence and the purity of children with the complexity of old quilts. One of the most enjoyable things about using children in my work is the joy I feel when I am able to capture their essence. Most of the quilts I use in my drawings have been hand made by my great grandmother who was also an artist.
I especially enjoy beautiful plants and flowers. Selecting and arranging my botanical subjects is very much like arranging actors on a stage. I am always fascinated by how the positioning and placement of inanimate objects with live subjects, if done correctly, can form such a wonderful relationship.
My hope is that through my artwork, others will rediscover the dignity and beauty of the commonplace and I hope that the realism of my drawings will allow my viewers to relax, draw a quiet breath, and enjoy the myriad of visual delights that surround us.
Valerie Lloyd
