On leaving School Val attended Stafford College of Art and Design for two years doing an Intermediate Course. Family and children rather took over after that and apart from various very short courses at West Dean and St Ives, anything creative was rather neglected until joining Creech Barrow Artists in 2017. 

Her work is evolving all the time. Sometimes representational - if rather impressionistic - and sometimes abstract but the aim always is that it should have energy, drawing this from the earth's energy and connecting with the past and also music. Working in oils or acrylic mainly but experimenting with mixed media and collage.

Barbara Rae, Joan Eardley and the Impressionists are a big influence in her work.