A Parallel Planets piece by Pepe Serapio
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Parallel Planets presents Valerie Chua
in Homeworlds: Better Things To Come
Series by Jofer Serapio
Mentioned: East Asian watercolor artists, implied intimacy, and becoming a good teacher
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"Don’t think, just do. I always tell this to my friends who overanalyze. If you think, plan, idealize, too much, you can never get work done." — Valerie Chua
Shaking Valerie Chua's hand at Art in the Park 2013 was something of a highlight for me. For a long time, I've been a fan of her and her paintings.
There seems to always be a sense of femininity, a softness, in Valeries's work that downplays the wash of colors she employs so masterfully. The combinations of hues are awe-inspiring but they do not take anything away from the whimsy on display. More often than not, there is a stark emphasis on quietude and innocence, an implied intimacy between the watcher and the tale captured in the canvas. On troubled days, her artwork serves as an inspiration: all the stress in the world dissipates and I can just close my eyes and dream of better things to come.
A self-taught visual artist, Valerie specializes in traditional media, more prominently watercolor but also gouache and acrylic. Traditional and digital collage work are nothing new to her either. Primarily influenced by East Asian watercolor artists, she incorporates the literature, especially the poetry, of magical realism into her paintings, giving birth to illustrative art with fantastical stories of their own.
"My space is actually a third of my bedroom," Valerie explains. "It’s not a legitimate art space because I also sleep in the same room."
As with all bedrooms, the design is more geared towards sleeping in, not working in. But, hey, there's a desk, so that's close enough. Valerie can work in different parts of her house, anyway, which speaks volumes on how adaptable she can be.
"I don’t really have a fixed space at the moment but I’ll be getting one late this year," she reveals. "Just waiting for the turnover."
Valerie spends about five to eight hours working at her desk. But that's just when she has work to be done. Sometimes she works at home, sometimes at a café. She does rent a space for her workshops, where she also sneaks in some of her client work as needed. Take note that these workshops often happen during the summer season. She is back at her desk by June or July at the latest. When she's in a different country, renting a space is just normal.
When asked about her power animal, she doesn't hesitate to answer: it has to be a wolf, though the reason for which she leaves a mystery. Figuring out an alternate ego would be harder, as Valerie explains, "I don’t think I know anyone enough to decide."
In a world devoid of watercolors, Valerie believes she'd be in the sciences instead, citing her love for animals as the number one reason for the alternate lifestyle (aside from the inexistence of watercolors, that is). That love for animals is evident in how much she portrays such creatures in her work. On a previous feature here at Parallel Planets, we were greeted by stags and cats, fluttering birds, making the canvas their own, right beside alluring portraits of women we haven't met but would definitely love to.
To date, Valerie Chua is working on an exhibit piece for Light Grey Art Lab's group show, Animystics, in Minnesota. She's also working on private commissions and more collaborative shows. But more importantly, she is focused on becoming a good teacher: "I really want my students to learn."
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