WINNER
Retail Art Gallery of the Year
Valerie Simms
Valerie Simms is a portrait and wildlife artist based in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
Valerie originally came to study art as a mature student at North Oxfordshire School of Art & Design where she studied an "Access to Art and Design" course, part-time for two years.
The course allowed her to investigate all forms of art and design and find her own pathway through to higher education. She then went on to do a "H.N.D Design Illustration" course at Swindon College School of Art which she graduated from in 1997.
Since completion of her further education, Valerie has steadily developed and refined her process to achieve a consistently high standard of work. Valerie has successfully built up her client-base and her work has featured within a variety of art galleries throughout England.