Val is an established contemporary landscape artist with over 15 years of professional experience. In 2025 her work was Shortlisted for the Scottish Landscape Awards.
Her painting practice is rooted in nature and takes inspiration from the wood and scrubland next to her home in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Working from life, memory, imagination, drawings and photographs her paintings focus on the underlying emotional and psychological resonances that emerge in our interactions with the natural world
Alongside her creative practice, Val is passionate about teaching and has taught extensively across a diverse range of art courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. She is Course Leader for the Mentoring and One Day painting courses at Leith School of Art. Val brings a wealth of teaching experience to her roles as mentor and tutor having taught theory and practice to students at Edinburgh College of Art and supported emerging artists in developing their conceptual thinking and technical confidence. Her approach to both art making and education places emphasis on enabling each individual to achieve their full potential through curiosity, experimentation, and unique expression.
Val has received numerous awards for her painting and was awarded The Katherine Michaelson Prize for art writing. She is a professional member of both Visual Arts Scotland (VAS) and the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA). Her paintings can often be seen in the Royal Scottish Academy as part of RSW (The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour), VAS and SSA shows.