Valerie Norwood

Valerie Norwood...retired theater teacher turned artist A Personal Awareness of the World...an Artist Statement
I am a transplant from the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and Massachusetts to the North Country. Having lived in the majestic Columbia River Gorge, bracing Juneau Alaska, and the history of Massachusetts, I am now a resident of Chateaugay Lake in the Adirondack Park.		Working in pastel, oil, and watercolor, I am exploring the parameters of my abilities to capture moments in time, to draw viewers into my images, and to invite them to make them their own.
I have always been drawn to nature's beauty and to the dynamics of the human condition. I love the gold glowing light that slants across the sky in the northern regions and the rich variety of color that changes with the seasons		Working in oil, I have learned to appreciate the lush color elements that give depth to skin tones, dimension and vista to landscapes and a medium that is infinitely challenging to my ingenuity. Eventually, this is the medium that I hope to master and make my own.
In the depths of winter, when it seems that we will never see full sunlight again, I love to see bright color on the walls. It pulls me out of gray days. The interplay of light and color in a child's eyes or the posture of a moody moment make me want to capture and hold the moment on canvas.		Watercolor has a delicacy and immediacy that invites gesture or whimsy. I am still working on that. Knowing when to stop or when to allow the paint and water to take over from intent is an art in itself.
As a former theater teacher, I worked with my students to set the stage for the audience to enter into the life of a play. We were to "hold as 't were the mirror up to nature" as Shakespeare put it. We see in that mirror our image transformed by an inner life.		Dry pastels are a satisfying cross between for me. It has the lush colors and the forgiving nature of oils with the delicacy of watercolor. For this growing artist, it is the kindest medium.