Valerie Craig
Ever popular and constantly developing, Valerie creates award winning plein air paintings of Pennsylvania
and similar venues. Her technique is at once universal and unique.
Please click the red triangle to the left for more biographical information.
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 well-rounded and includes still-life, landscapes and street scenes.
Valerie Craig has had more than twenty years in the field to date. Her in-depth study has been enhanced by workshops with noted artists (Robert Wade, Michael Doyle, Scott Christensen). 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, painting quickly and capturing the essence of a subject or the mood of a time and place. She finds that capturing true color, light and atmosphere of a subject is best done through direct observation and truly understanding a familiar place.
Craig paints en plein air whenever she can, then often completes larger canvasses in the studio. Her paintings reflect her connection to the local Pennsylvania countryside as well as the rural farms and beaches in southern New Jersey. Craig has traveled frequently to Ireland and also within the United States, seeking inspiration and opportunities to paint in the field.
Craig's work can be found in numerous private and corporate collections. Her paintings have frequently been chosen for greeting cards, a book cover, and most recently included in the movie Marley and Me. She teaches en plein air locally as well as in Europe. She was awarded Best in Show in the 2008 Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival and is represented by Artists' House Gallery, Philadelphia, Newman Saunders Gallery, Wayne, PA, Peter McPhee Fine Arts, Stone Harbor, NJ, and Art Access Gallery, Columbus, OH.
Artist 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."
Master of Science, Catholic University
Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Essex Fine Art Gallery, Montclair, NJ
Newman Sanders Gallery, Wayne, PA
Peter McPhee Fine Arts, Stone Harbor, NJ
The White Room, Galway Ireland
United Bank of Virginia, Norfolk, VA
Pennsylvania Trust Company, Radnor, PA
1991 Carol Schwartz Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1992 Slice of Heaven Restaurant, Philadelphia, PA
1993 The Gallery, Congregation Beth Orr, Springhouse, PA
1995 Carolina's Restaurant, Radnor, PA
1996 Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, PA
1998 The William Ris Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ
1999 Forster's Framing, Wayne, PA
2001 The William Ris Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ
2001 Episcopal Academy, Merion, PA
2003 Forster's Framing, Wayne, PA
2005 Rosemont School of the Holy Child, Rosemont, PA
2005 Tyme Gallery, Haverford, PA
2006-2009 Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2007-2009 Peter McPhee Fine Arts Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ
2008-2009 Art Access Gallery Landscape Show, Bexley, OH
1986-1989 Ghent Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA
1988 Seawall Arts Festival, Portsmouth, VA
1989 Harvey Cedars Art Show, NJ
1989-1993 Doylestown Art League Juried Show
1990-1991 Manayunk Arts Festival, PA
1990-1991 Stone Harbor Annual Art Show, NJ
1992 Main Line Arts Center, PA
1992 Pennsylvania Water Color Club Annual
1992 Philadelphia Art Show
1993 Manayunk Arts Festival, PA
1993 Ocean City Arts Center Invitational, Ocean City, NJ
1994-1995 Philadelphia Art Show
1994 American College Annual Art Show, Bryn Mawr, PA
1996-1997 Wayne Art Center, PA
1998 Perkins Art Center, Moorestown, NJ
1999 Main Line Arts Center, PA
1999-2008 Wayne Art Center, PA
2000-2005 Daylesford Abbey, Paoli, PA
2001 Main Line Arts Center, PA
2004-2009 Notre Dame Academy, Rosemont, PA
2005-2007 Immaculata University, Malvern, PA
2006 Annapolis Plein Air Festival
2007 Daylesford Abbey, Paoli, PA
2007 Living with Art, Main Line Art Center
2007 Easton, MD Plein Air Festival
2007-2009 Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival
2008-2009 Landscapes for Landsakes, Greenwich, NY
2008 All Paintings Great and Small, Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT
2009 Art of the Still Life, Artists House Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2009 American Women Artists
1989 Best in Show - Watercolor: Avalon Art Show
1989-1990 Anna W. Clark Award for Excellence in Watercolor: Chestnut Hill Art Show
1990 First Place Mixed Media: Chestnut Hill Art Show
1990 Third Place Watercolor: Stone Harbor Annual Art Show
1991 Honorable Mention: Side Porch Gallery, Fairfax, VA
1993 Second Place, Ocean City Regional Show
1993 Selected for Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation's Promotional Campaign
1994 Honorable Mention, Wayne Arts Center Fall Member's Juried Show
1995 Distinguished Artist, American Cancer Society, Philadelphia Division's
1998 Holiday Cards Poster Artist, Main Line YMCA
1997 Alternative Gift Market Cards, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
1999-2004 Alternative Gift Market Cards, Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
2004 Petersen's Kitchen's Award, Main Line Art Center
2006 Honorable Mention - Delaware Art League
2006 Great Frame-Up Award - Wayne Art Center
2006 Honorable Mention - Delaware Art League
2007 Wayne Art Center Award, Expressions of Radnor, Wayne Art Center
2007 Second Place, Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival
2008 Distinguished Artist, American Cancer Society, Philadelphia Chapter
2008 Honorable Mention, Wayne Art Center Plein Air Festival
2008 Best in Show, Wayne Plein Air Festival, PA
2008 Newman & Saunders Award, Wayne Art Center Juried Members Show
2008 Radnor Hotel Award, Wayne Art Center
2009 Honorable Mention, Wayne Plein Air Festival, PA
2009 Runner Up (to Best in Show), American Women Artists' Show
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