Traditional impressionistic visual snapshots of certain aspects of quintessential English social life are what much sought after figurative artist, Sherree Valentine-Daines’ signature brushstrokes exemplify. An accomplished and widely respected British artist, Valentine-Daines, alongside of being known for her portraitures of assembled stars of the stage and screen, is also universally acknowledged for her visual interpretations of key sporting events and the sportsmen and women who create the living memories.
Commissioned to pictorially document and commemorate the passing of such blue riband events in the annual sporting calendar as Henley Regatta, Royal Ascot race meetings and Test Cricket series’, Valentine-Daines is revered for her virtuoso coupling of elements and materials so as to create her signature impressionism style of compositions; primarily sourcing oils on canvas as her default medium of visual translation.
Born in Effingham in Surrey in 1956, Valentine-Daines’ father was a sculptor, whilst her sisters are all gainfully employed as artists themselves, which suggests an inherent gift. At the age of 20, Valentine-Daines enrolled at Epsom School of Art, where she chose to study Fine Art for four years, and which served as the platform in which she honed her now instantly recognizable and overtly distinctive style. A style which lends heavily from two of the foremost old masters themselves, Renoir and Monet.
After completing her studies, Valentine-Daines relocated to Cornwall and dedicated her time to the painting of everything and indeed, anything. From beaches and skies to local architecture and typical countryside, Valentine-Daines turned her hand to whatever vistas and junctions on a panorama that caught her roving, artistic eye. Yet time after time, she dwelt on people; capturing the very essence of a local folk through their unique features, expressions and emotions. After putting on successful regional exhibitions, Valentine-Daines’ particular brand of art was showcased on a larger scale, being transiently housed at London’s Barbican Art Gallery as her star went into the ascendancy.
This gave Valentine-Daines the courage of her convictions to give-up her day job, that she’d also made a success of in the meantime and which had bank-rolled her personal art odyssey. That was, incidentally, as a jewellery designer for Parisian company, Chaumet. Putting down her roots in London, Valentine-Daines would spend her time in around the capital city’s cultural hotspots, like the South Bank and Covent Garden, so as to take the likeness and conduct portraitures of its denizens. in a short space of time, and on the back of a deal of positive press, contemporary art industry awards followed for Valentine-Daines; including the Young Artist of the Year Award from The Royal Portrait Society and the Laing Landscape and Seascape Competition amongst others.
In 1986 Valentine-Daines was invited to capture cricket’s great Ashes contest, fought out between England and Australia at a selection of test grounds in the UK, as well as being the official artist to the Rugby World Cup. After her sports-based commissions, Valentine-Daines progressed to actors, presenters and people in the public eye who sought her out to create their likeness in oils. Household names such as John Sessions, Michael Parkinson, Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen and Joanna Lumley for example. And while famous names have queued up to sit for Valentine-Daines, even more famous names are among her admirers and collectors of her works; not least members of the Royal Family according to sources.
When questioned on the structure and underpinnings of her typical pieces, Valentine-Daines is quick to point out that observation, beauty, compositional balance, form and interpretation are key, whilst she’s captivated by the interjection of light and colour on the subject matter. Valentine-Daines has also been running her own life classes for more than two decades, passing on to others her enviable skill-set and encouraging her own students to explore and evolve their individual styles. To celebrate her 30th victorious year, in 2007, as the foremost figurative artist in the UK, she released "First Impressions," a striking commemorative book in hardback that is a well-illustrated display of the Valentine-Daines’ creations.
In terms of exhibitions, Valentine-Daines has seen her exhibitions take shape at a phalanx of impressive venues, including the Barbican Art Gallery, Lord’s Museum, the Tate Gallery and the New English Art Club, all situated in London, as well as having her works exhibited by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and the Royal Society of British Artists. Her original canvases and limited edition prints remain incredibly popular because of their exemplary Britishness according to her army of fans and collectors.
