Valerie Speer is a self-described “immersionist,” drawn to deeply absorbing herself in the environment before expressing it through her painting. She has been painting with acrylics since a young age, but her artistic journey became more serious in 2001. Valerie’s formal training began at Okanagan College, where she studied Fine Arts, and was later complemented by a focus on Audiovisual Communications in Edmonton, where she explored photography and video production.

After relocating to the prairies, Valerie returned to painting, compelled by the need to reflect the vast landscapes she now encountered. Her earlier time in Jasper had exposed her to the works of the Group of Seven artists, particularly Lawren Harris and J.E.H. MacDonald, whose paintings of Maligne Lake and Lake O’Hara inspired her. She was struck by the way their art captured an essence that her photography could not convey.

As she began to paint again, Valerie became increasingly aware of the simplicity of line and the subtle use of light in her work, finding that these elements evoked the feelings she had toward the places she sought to capture. Living on the prairies has both challenged and inspired her, with the dramatic skies, sweeping coulees, and intense weather systems becoming central to her creative practice. Similarly, time spent in the mountains fills her with a sense of vulnerability, overwhelmed by their awe-inspiring grandeur, an experience too vast to fully absorb.