About VAL

Val West was born on June 4, 1951 in Boston, Massachusetts, an only child to older parents. His father, descended from a line of seamen, was born in Wallesey, England. His mother, a native Bostonian, counted many artists and musicians among her ancestors. VAL found himself drawn to modern art at an early age, especially that of Picasso, Matisse, Calder and Miro.

VAL spent his childhood years in both Massachusetts and England, but as a teenager his family relocated to Southern California, settling in the Los Angeles area. VAL attended Hollywood High School, taking many courses in art and design and working on the stage crew painting sets. Upon graduation, he entered a series of jobs involving painting and decorating sets for stage and television.

VAL now devotes all his time to art, working out of a small studio in Los Angeles, California. He has developed his own unique style of painting, combining multi-colored abstract forms of people and objects. His media is acrylic paint on canvas and cut and pasted paper. His abstract paintings have gained steady acclaim throughout California and are now reaching national and international levels of exposure.