The Teller Collective is delighted to showcase the work of Tatura Artist Val Rokahr.
Since childhood Val has always loved drawing, playing with materials and creating unique artworks. Her love of art continued as she worked and raised a family and during this time she perfected realistic images in various art mediums.
Val took up watercolours seriously more than 20 years ago, attending workshops both here and internationally with many of Australia’s best known watercolour artists. She has found her niche and loves the results of the fresh clean medium.
Val has painted ‘plein air’ in Italy and France, and is the president of Tatura Creative Painters. Val is sought after for commissions for her ability to capture the essence of a person, place or beloved family pet.
Val hopes you enjoy her latest works now hanging here in Shepparton’s Teller Restaurant.
About Val
"Every child is an artist. The problem is staying one when you grow up." - Pablo Picasso.
Not many artists can claim that they still have their first set of Derwent pencils, but Tatura artist Val Rokahr can. Val received her first set of the prized pencils at age 8, and from then began a love affair with color, form, shape, and texture.
Val has always loved drawing and painting, as long as it was a true representation of the subject. She has always been a realist. Her fascination has evolved from the horses she liked to draw as a young girl to vignettes that capture the colors and movement of life in progress. Whether it be streetscapes with rambling terraces and cafes in Rathdowne Street, Carlton, or boats and anchorages in Italy, Val is happiest packing her kit and painting onsite or in ‘plein air.’
Val, the youngest of six children, grew up in Shepparton when art materials weren't as readily available to children as they are now. She remembers Sunday afternoon family visits to her Uncle George’s farm at Mundoona, where she would immediately head down the driveway to a spot where the sandy soil made a perfect canvas for creating fabulous landscapes with sticks or small branches from nearby trees.
The classroom at Central School, which she attended in her primary years, had a fascinating watercolour picture of an Albert Namigera Central Australian landscape hanging near the doorway; the start of a long love affair with the pure freshness of the medium.
At sixteen, Val began attending night art classes at Shepparton Technical School, as Shepparton High did not offer Matriculation Art that year. Val enjoyed these classes immensely, and many years later, when she attended the Rodney Arts Society, she painted again with the well-known Frank Rowe. One of the invaluable techniques Val learned was "purist" watercolor – without the use of black or white.