Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Hou.
Hi Valerie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always been a creative person. I started with more traditional fine art background of oil painting, drawing, and taking art classes which eventually led to my interest in pursing a BFA in Graphic Design. After graduating in 2021, I moved to the DC area and started my career as a graphic designer. Over the past several years, I’ve worked and interned across social marketing, advertising, and publication design, which really helped me grow as a designer and learn how to communicate ideas through design.
At the same time, I started feeling this pull back toward fine art. I began painting and drawing again, but this time with a lot more freedom, intuition and experimentation. I became especially interested in abstract landscapes and florals, drawing a lot of inspiration from nature, my surroundings, and memories.
Once I started creating work, I knew I didn’t want to just keep it to myself. I took the initiative to create more content on my social media, go to gallery openings and art events, and learn from other artists and people in the local art community. I also started reaching out to casual local spaces to find opportunities to showcase my work and applied to several art shows. As a result, I’ve started gaining commissions and people becoming interested in buying my paintings. That really helped me build confidence, make connections, and start creating a presence for myself as an artist. Most recently, I had my first experience in a juried exhibition at The Foundry Gallery in DC, where one of my paintings was selected for the regional juried show and received an honorable mention. That was especially meaningful to me because it was my first juried show, and it felt like a real validation of the work I had been putting out there.
So today, I feel like I’ve been able to bring together both sides of my creativity and see how those two worlds come together.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a challenge balancing my career in graphic design with my personal art practice, depending how far I want to take my art. I also try not to put too much pressure on myself to make art feel like a job. I want it to remain something that’s fun and enjoyable for me, and treat is as an outlet where I can create freely, without as many rules or expectations about what the end result needs to be. I think that freedom is actually a big part of what keeps me excited about painting.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a full time corporate graphic designer for a global PR agency and on the side I am an abstract mixed media artist, working with acrylic paint, oil and soft pastels. I am originally from Princeton, NJ and currently based in Silver Spring, MD. My work is a blend of the natural world and imagination or dream like experience through expressive colors, brushstrokes, textures, and fluid forms, showing the rhythms of nature. I allow my paintings to evolve on its own when I paint intuitively and I let my viewers reflect, pause and bring their own experience into the piece within the shifting forms and colors.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was always creating things with my hands and being outside. I’ve also always had a strong interest in photography, interior design, and fashion. I tend to see the world from a unique perspective and have always been very observant of my surroundings and the little details around me. I’ve also always had a huge love for animals, specifically dogs and horses. I spent most of my childhood and teenage years horseback riding, and would always find myself painting or drawing them.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://veryvaldesigns.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veryvaldesigns/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veryvaldesigns
