Valerie Graves is a Master Painter of
landscapes, capturing the special light and essence of the mountains,
sagebrush mesas and valleys of the Southwest.
Many have said that her remarkably sensitive
and beautiful work is extremely reminiscent of the very best
of the early Taos Founder paintings. Few artists have earned
that praise.
Valerie Graves was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Fine Art at the prestigious Taos Invites Taos Show in 2003 by the Taos Medical Services Foundation who sponsors this acclaimed show. She joins R.C. Gorman and Agnes Martin in receiving that special honor. She has won the Best Traditional Painting Award for seven years now - along with two Best In Show Awards.
Graves is currently included in the beautiful new book, "Landscapes of New Mexico," published by Fresco Fine Art Publications. New Mexico's top landscape painters are showcased in the book. Contact Valerie Graves Art at seth@powerhorse.com to find out how to order an artist signed copy of the book.
Special! New soft-cover, full-color book, "Magical Seasons of New Mexico, Paintings by Valerie Graves." (at left)
"This is a wonderful book for anyone who loves New Mexico in all of her magnificent seasons, and for anyone who admires Valerie Graves and her exceptional ability to capture the light and color of our beautiful state."
Please click here for further information on this book.
The image and power of Taos Mountain
and the Taos Valley play a central role in Valerie Graves work,
and are portrayed in their many moods and in various seasons.
The rich golden light of sunset which highlights the Sangre de
Cristos and casts lush, deep purple shadows is vividly captured
in her glowing pastels and oils
The quiet softness of The First Light,
the delicate infusion of sunlight just before the sun rises,
is both a feeling and a realness which Valerie Graves captures
in her Early Morning series.
In her Moonlight, Firelight and Nightime
series, she successfully and gently paints elusive, almost mystical
scenes which are made up of many subtle colors and shadows. She conveys the powerful but quiet interplay of light and shadow, firelight and darkness with her
usual, astounding ability.
The remarkable quality and effectiveness
of her work lies in the fact that she recreates both the feeling
of the place she is painting and the reality of the place she
is painting. Critics use the word sensitivity over and over in
respect to her work, sensitivity without cliche, without garishness,
without dishonesty. The beauty she chooses as subject matter
is always conveyed from her heart, spontaneously. Perhaps that
is why she can capture what is elusive to almost everyone else.
The remarkable painting, Taos Pueblo Christmas
Eve,
depicts the bonfire lit night with astounding emotion and strength!
In addition to landscapes, Valerie Graves
also paints some elements of Taos Pueblo and other Indian Ceremonials.
She respectfully paints only those permitted aspects of important
Native American dances or processions because much of what occurs
is sacred. These works are beyond description and beyond praise
largely because this is as important to her as the pure and overwhelming
beauty which surrounds her.
Taos Mountain, sacred to the Taos Pueblo
people and part of the Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range (meaning
Blood of Christ in Spanish, so named for the sunset colors which
wash across the entire length of mountains) is a central part
of her everyday life.
Graves is represented by galleries across
the country with original paintings available in Santa Fe at the SanTaos Art Gallery, and both original paintings and and prints available in Taos at Valerie Graves Fine Art Gallery, in The Carson House Shop Patio Room in Taos. She is the main artist at the online gallery - BirdSongGallery.com which was especially designed to feature her Bird and Wildlife paintings and prints.
She has been an invited and juried
exhibitor in many prestigious shows nationwide; has received
numerous awards and grants including multiple Best In Show Awards; is included in many museum and private
collections; has illustrated a popular book on adobe architecture;
and has been a featured artist in a number of Fine Art Magazines.
"Blossoms & Shadows" © by Valerie Graves
Available as a Print Only
