I’m Valerie Khoo. I'm an artist who paints large scale original floral artwork. I'm passionate about capturing flowers in their prime, when they are at their full potential, full of life and vibrancy, before they are cast aside and considered past their use-by date. I love the momentum in each of the petals and love to capture the each bloom with all its curves and fullness, the energy of a flower that has unfolded and is now truly free to become what it was meant to be.
Ever since I was a child, I've been mesmerised by the beauty and power of flowers. My father imported flowers from all over the world and supplied many of the best florists in Sydney. My mother was the 'go to' person for floral art for weddings. So our home was always full of blooms and colour.
As an artist, I followed my creative curiosity into colour, form and design. I fell in love with paint – the magical alchemy of colour on colour. I became obsessed with exploding hues and beautiful florals captured on canvas.
All of this creative discovery was always underpinned by my great loves of literature, from the romantic poets – like Keats, Byron and Shelley – to the surrealist dream-like world of Lewis Carroll. I realised I felt completely at home when I combined my love of nature with my fascination with the extremes of scale. As a result, I love to paint the microcosms of nature at a macro size, creating images that are surprising and unpredictable.
It's my mission to infuse joy and enthusiasm into every artwork, bringing pleasure to me as I create it and, ultimately, to the person who becomes the custodian of the beautiful painting.