"FLOWER SIDEWALK CRACKS", mixed media on canvas, 48" x 48" x 1.5"
"WILDFLOWERS INSIDE", mixed media on canvas, 36" x 24" x 0.5"
"NASTURTIUMS", 2022, mixed media collage on arches paper, 34" x 23"
PEONY AND YELLOW TABLE | mixed media painting on Arches thick watercolor paper, 30" x 23"
NARCISSUS ON YELLOW TABLE | mixed media on paper, 28" x 18"
ORANGES ON TABLE | hand-painted paper on paper, 43" x 44"
THRIVE | hand-painted paper on paper, 43" x 44"
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Member Portfolio

Valerie Coursen

Philadelphia, PA

Résumé

Artist Statement

I approach my creative process thinking of color and color relationships. I am drawn to things that are weathered and have a patina and like to experiment with mark making, unconventional tools and printmaking techniques. These techniques are applied to natural papers such as rice paper and then pinned to the studio wall and look like layers of falling colorful leaves. They are cut and torn and added to my mixed media paintings. I never tire of exploring with paint, building layers, creating patterns and laying a swath of solid color next to a layered detailed area. Painting is a language all its own and one I am always invigorated by learning more of.

Artist Biography

Valerie Coursen was born near Boston, Massachusetts and now is living near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and she has been creating artwork her entire life. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design she had a flourishing career as an illustrator creating designs for books and paper and textiles. After a few years she longed to work larger again and started painting on canvas at the historic Emerson Umbrella in Concord, Massachusetts. She later moved to Philadelphia and was inspired by the new city and the larger art studio and other artists. The studio in Philadelphia brought experimentation in painting and printmaking where she continued to take classes at the University of the Arts. She kept up her freelance and book illustration work, continued to paint and today she works in a barn shaped studio close to her house and teaches workshops there and in Nantucket.

Education

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
BFA, Printmaking and Illustration
Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO
Continuing Education, Painting and Ceramics

Awards & Honors

Cuffie Award
Most promising new illustrator for children's book Mordant's Wish
Print Magazine Award
Illustrations and Book Design

Residencies
2021
Nantucket Art Association, Nantucket, MA
Artist in Residence
2008
Nantucket Art Association, Nantucket, MA
Artist in Residence

Previous Residencies
Little Compton, RI
Artist in Residence


Bibliography

Publications
2000
The Poodle Who Barked at the Wind, Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY
1999
Clever Letters, American Girl Company
1995
Mordant's Wish, Henry Holt and Co., New York, NY
1994
Sisters, Running Press, Philadelphia, PA
Illustrator

Collection

Commissions
Large scale paintings for Hilton Hotel Lobbies
Private commissions of paintings and painted paper collages

Affiliation

East End Gallery, Nantucket, MA
LAA Collective, Wayne, PA

Professional Experience

Nantucket Art Association, Nantucket, MA
Instructor
Valerie Coursen Studio
Instructor

Exhibitions

Two- and Three-Person
2017
Two Person Show, East End Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2016
Three Person Show, East End Gallery, Nantucket, MA

Group
2015 - 2021
Main Line Arts Center, Haverford, PA
Invitational and juried exhibitions
Curated
2013
Arts and Re-Creation Tri-Annual Art Show for Visiting Artists, Penn Charter Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Other
1998 - 2021
Open Studios, Valerie Coursen Studios, Narberth, PA
1995 - 1997
Open Studios, Brown Street Studios, Philadelphia, PA
1994 - 1995
Open Studios, 915 Spring Garden Street Studios, Philadelphia, PA
1994
Open Studio, Emerson Umbrella, Concord, MA
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