Valerie's profile
Artist’s Statement (Valerie A. Smith)
I live and work in Baltimore, Maryland. I am an artist who loves to create colorful and meaningful surreal artwork. My work is done primarily in oils on canvas, measuring not less than one foot in any direction. I also enjoy working with colored inks, water colors, acrylics and color pencils and found objects. I have created artwork on canvas shoes, bottle art and artwork on vinyl LP record albums.
My life’s work evolve around colors and how colors can have an emotional effect on the viewer, my visual dreams also play a part in my creative process. I work in the style of Surrealism because, I want each viewer to see something different or what they think they see in my work. Often, I create stories or subtle messages within my work and other times these messages are screaming loudly that it could not be missed. I don’t want the viewer to just see my work, I want my work to leave an impression on the viewer.
My personal preferences are to create my work from stretching the canvas to the finished product of framing my work. It is my way of really getting into what I am doing with that piece of material. Lately, I began creating artwork with found objects, such as repurposed Vinyl LP Record Albums, Canvas Shoes, Bottle Art and Cigar Boxes. I print and mat my original artworks to be sold at a lesser price than my original works.
I studied Architectural Design and Basic Electronic at RET'S Electronic School, Fine Art at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), fine arts at the Towson University’s College of Fine Arts and Communications, earned my degree from the Professional Institute of Commercial Arts (PICA). I learned to blend architectural design, the art of electronic printed circuit boards, Commercial Arts, Fashion Design and Fine Arts to create a final piece of surreal artwork.
2014 – Interviewed with Oswald Copeland Journalist of the Examiner and posted on
You Tube as: “Utopian Dreamer, Baltimore’s Val Smith”
2015 – Contributed a chapter to a book written by Jan Sinnott, PhD.
Chapter Entitled: “Dual Identities as an Artist”
2015 – Interviewed by a Towson University Sociology student for her studies in sociology classes
2015 – Mentioned in Gloria Garrett’s - www.gloriasart.com/blog
My work was featured at the LED Baltimore Art Billboard in 2020 and 2024
2021- Highlandtown Gallery – Magnolia Designs/LLC - SOLD a Painting to JP Morgan
2021and 2024 Exhibited at Overlea Arts Fest – Won 1st prize for “Birds ‘N” Feathers” painting and Second Prize for "People Trees"
2024 – Peale Museum Exhibit - SOLD a Painting
2025 - Will Exhibit a "One Woman Show" entitled Utopian Dreamer at MaxGalleries
