Valentine

All About Valentine

Selfie of the artist, Valentine.

Hi! I'm Valentine, a Calgary-based acrylic painter. Valentine is a name with personal significance that I have chosen to make my art under, but in my daily life I also go by Vitaliy, or variations of either name.

Art is something that I have always been naturally drawn to, but that ended up on the back burner as school became much busier. Last year I had the time to jump back into painting, and I am very glad that art has come back into my life in such a big and unexpected way. I'm very interested to see where following this path will lead me!

Selfie of Valentine with funky green and black eyeshadow.

My formal education is in the field of computer science, which I hope to continue to develop and pursue in parallel with my painting. I have no formal art education, though I attended some informal art classes under several different artists while in elementary school, so I am not entirely self-taught.

Two of my main interests at the moment are pet portraits and paintings of cars. These may feel like a strange combination, but both involve precision and immense satisfaction when all their details come together into a recognizable individual!

Outside of Painting

My primary full-time job is taking care of a grumpy old man (Mr. Mimino, pictured below).

Grey short-haired cat looking very grumpy loafing on a folded blanket.

In my free time I like to hang out with close friends and family, experiment with makeup and outfits, and take photos using my instant film camera.

Black-and-white selfie of Valentine behind some hanging star-shaped wire lights. Bright red 1954 Jaguar XK120. Robot sculpture outside. This photo's border is glittery blue. Light blue photo of a cat superimposed over a pink one. A double exposure, with a violet border. Whimsical mini train set amongst some potted plants.