' Halloween ' Bohemian Evening

Come along to our ' Halloween ' bohemian evening at the Valerio institute for alternative learning.

 Our one day open studio event at our workshop in Roborough , Plymouth this coming Sunday 30th October.
Will include the announcement of the winner of our recent competition accompanied of course with the usual nibbles and sips and or own brand of eccentricity.

 So come along and see some work and meet some characters, and maybe even take part in one of our ' communal creative sessions.

Coming Soon!!!!

 Be sure to keep your eye out for our soon to be released short film on u.tube entitled ' How to build and install your own dinosaur' this short video will cover all the basics of assembly and will be accompanied with slide show of the manufacture of all the necessary pieces to put together your very own prehistoric terror !!!

 Caution : All adults should seek the assistance of a child when attempting this exercise of the imagination.

Dino Day NDSM Amsterdam

Dinosaur Day @ NDSM Amsterdam -Land 

SAT /SUN November 14th /15th 2015

10 till 5 drop in build a dinosaur day only 5 Euro's per child per day !all adults must be accompanied by at least one child ! 

we are going to build and put up a full Tyrannosaur in one day ....its like being a paleontologist except you make it /paint it instead of digging it up 

brilliant/ fun /interactive/ workshop for the whole family !  

supervision/tuition in English and Dutch 

Its amazing what you can do with a few sticks and a bit of old carpet tube........if of course your so inclined!!!!

101 Descriptions of what a Valerio Signature Painting might be.........

When I started doing these swirly undulations way back when I was in school, the only reference people had was to liken it a little to Dali'esque and Giger'esque which of course I did and still do find to be rather complimentary, and when I first started displaying them they were rather groundbreaking , no one was producing work like this, certainly not among any of the little seaside galleries that I was frequenting ( and originally there really was not the internet for reference and research available ) indeed many of the galleries I approached in the early days would offer great praises for the work , but not see it fitting in ' their current portfolio's ' ( it was all pastel hue splashed paint flowers and beach scenes ) these days its rather different , there are many artists and designers it seems the world over that work in a parallel medium ,  of course what some artists would call ' inspired by ' might be complete plagiarism to some administrators understanding .....

and for the past 20+ years of producing and displaying these pieces I am of course always faced with a few ' well , what is it ? ' type questions .....to which I always give a slightly different answer , which has in itself become a little bit of an ongoing game ....


1.They are depictions of common understandings of all things lost to the conscious mind.

2.They are representations of common contemporary theories and theologies.

3.They are pictorial renderings describing that ever elusive unified field theory.

4.They are an abstract showcasing the story of evolution in its entirety.

5.They are ghosts of the forgotten folklore that is now almost unpronounceable in our current tongue.

6.They are biological – they represent the displacement created by human habitations.

7.They are meditative mandalas. They explore the minds eye's, route and process to bring the observer calmly round to reason.

8.They are amalgamated renderings of the textural tactility of the countryside with which I have made myself so familiar.

9.They map the pictorial form of my own decent into madness.

10.They are clockwork.

11.For someone somewhere they are the schematic blue prints for time travel.

12.They are innocence in its purest form.

13.They are what I have always done, they are the clawing of my hands as I grasp for that elusive breath that will allow me to enunciate all that I have to say to my fellow species.

14.They are my prayers.

15.They show the commonly under appreciated inter relationship we share in digital space.

16.They are merely the portrayal of an organic form...I cant be held accountable for what a pervert like you might interpret it to be.

17.They are a nice delicate, pictorial “Fuck You”

18.They are the bearings of my soul, my most intimate confession.

19.They are the renderings of the sacred truth

20.They are Architectural prototypes.

21.They explain Gravity.

22.They are a map to where dinosaurs went.

23.They are exactly what you need.

24.They show the commonly misunderstood relationships of atomic structure and its correlation with varying resonate frequency.

25.They are all I have been able to decipher from the Akashic records......so far

26.They are elaborations of the circles you make with the pen whilst on the phone...... asking if that painting is still available.......

27.They show the complexity and frailty of the human condition in a way that your subconscious responds to.

28.Puffs of smoke.........

29.Jacobs ladder

30.Ascension

31.Enlightenment

32.A pain in my ass

33.The other side

34.The shape of mysticism, the true colour of belief. The fabric of the vortex itself.

35.Studies of the intricacies of a complexity

36.The truth.......laid bare.......for all to see

37.It is the spillage of the leak that runs from my brain, through my heart and out of my hand

38.The absurdity of a lifetimes futile labour

39.My life's work

40.The addiction I cant quite kick

41.The DIY guide to genius

42.All the disparity I suffer from the imposition of the imposters.

43.My silent screams

44.My act of protest

45.My nightmares

46.The difference between you and me

47.High hopes and low expectations

48.The undeniable truth concerning the most unfathomable nonsense

49.My predictions of the future

50.The guide for preventing your demise

51.The best way of preventing the devil coming up with scheming for me to do

52.The incoherent ramblings of my own delusions

53.A step by step guide to building dinosaurs, climbing trees, falling off cliffs and listening to suggestions of the big wind.

54.Nonsense

55.Your route to salvation and redemption

56.I don't know

57.Can't you tell

58.If you can't read my handwriting you will probably really hate the message

59.What do you want it to be?

60.A way of filling some time before I die

61.The thing that made you ask that question which made me kill you

62.A mystery

63.A promise

64.A whisper

65.Your common misconceptions

66.The unintelligible truth

67.The resounding truth

68.The secret of life

69.The shape the brush makes when I'm on the end of it

70.Nothing worth mentioning to the likes of you

71.The longest joke ever written

72.I'm afraid I can't tell you

73.A sign that in great big letters that says “if you can't read this then you're a moron”

74.A game.... you've got to buy it and spend the rest of your life trying to figure it out

75.The fall from grace

76.The memoirs of a raving lunatic

77.The confessions of a genius

78.The result of a fevered mind

79.A pretty flower, a house and a moo cow......all caught up in a dimensional mincer

80.Fractal imbalances

81.Snow flakes

82.Father Christmas

83.A go on the merry-go-round

84.I'm buggered if I know

85.Get out

86.I could tell you but I'd have to kill you

87.Trust me you don't want to know

88.The study of the long tailed, long nosed, short legged, scaled submersible terrior

89.The unbearable likeness of bean

90.The tunnel before the light.

91.A way of focusing the mind and relaxing the eye

92.My evolutionary disadvantage.

93.Meteorological observations concerning the predictabilities in determining the unpredictabilities in determining short and long term conclusions

94.The interrelationships of particles and waves

95.Intellectual mischief

96.An ironic satire denoting the unrelenting tragedy of the existentialist existence

97.A very stoic commentary

98.What every artist up until now has been building towards

99.A therapeutic window leading to a very calming and centring place

100.A way of encouraging thought to speed up without the need of caffeine, these are suggestive prompts announcing.........what might be achieved

101.The child in all of us knows..............................

less than a week to go!!

Not far to go now ,
 Palm trees are in, dinosaur is half built , most of the painting is done (walls and floor that is), half finnished paintings are everywhere ......

 Saturday 27th August from Midday until 10:30pm we will be giving away free food and booze!( of course within reasonable limits)

So come along to our first public opening of our workshops in Roborough Plymouth and you might just find something worth turning the telly off for !

Meet the artists, See the work , enter the competitions but be warned these are real artists and it wouldnt take much to incite them, so be nice and well be the same x

New Arts market for Tavistock

The new arts market in Bank Square, Tavistock is under way where by the local councils are once again looking to the artistic community to provide free side shows for thier ailing commercial hubs in a vain attempt to bring about new interest.
 Unfortunately this is a double edged sword as most artists that rely on a regular trade but are not able to command high prices have to have thier work out and exhibited in order to generate sales , so to many this will seem a wonderful opportunity to get work seen and sold, but alas these schemes tend to fissle out as poor sales reflect poor attendence and consequently participation. it would be a far greater thing for the council to aknowledge the benefit and culture that such a scheme would encourage if it were to be a funded opportunity.

 The new arts market will be open one saturday a month untill October, again leaving room for seasonal interuptions and confusion concerning non sequenced dates.

 In light of all of this I do wish the Arts market every success and hope that my predictions dont come to fruition , in order to make that the case please go along to support your local talents on
August 20th

September 17th

October15th

and dont forget to pop in to Artby Valerio open studios between Plymouth and Tavistock.

Drawn to the Valley 2011 openstudios event!

The 'Drawn to the valley' Open Studios event is an annual opportunity to see over 130 participating artists from the Tamar Valley, at work in thier studio enviroment, to view works in progress and discuss the work and techniques with the creative force responsible. This week long event really is a wonderful chance for you to get in touch with any artists of specific interest to you !

Drawn to the Valley runs fromSaturday 27th August 2011 untill Sunday 4th September 2011.

prebooking is advisable and further information can be obtained from the 'Drawn to the Valley2011' guide book, available from a variety of sources. Alternativly check details online.

What if .....

If everyone began to simultaneously loose thier mind ............how would you know????

Competition Well Under Way!!!

Many thanks for all of your entries so far there are already some brilliant ones, keep up the good work and well keep you posted as to our upcoming events.

including our involvment in Drawn to the Valley Open Studios, from Saturday Aug 27th untill Sunday 4th of September and the Plymouth Arts Trail, from Saturday 17th September untill Sunday 25th September 2011.

all dates are subject to change, so please phone in advance of your visit to confirm an appointment.

Beware the Whistling Fishes.....

cornwalls artistic heritage is full of unusual characters and little art movements and 'schools' some would argue that really the artistic heritage of the region extends back to Neolithic man, with the ancient stone circles and monuments that can be found dotted around the unspoilt landscape.

but in the more recent past , the level and variety of works that have been inspired by and / or created here, really are abundant.

the light, the water , the rugged yet verdant coastline and hills, the scrumpy , and of course the characters !!( although sadly the latter are fewer and farther between these days )

St Ives for example a beautiful little Cornish village built over a strange little headland  full of little tiny meandering lanes, that were built to accommodate small horse and cart and never updated for todays commercial traffics, used to be lined with a veritable menagerie of little art studios and creative and colourful characters

unfortunately as with every other facet of our lives, they are under threat from the neon whore that is commercialism, a chain gallery in every single fishing village and tourist town , has had a severe effect on the traditional arts of the region, so many people are fooled by this well presented very clever business model ( in the same way that walt Disney / coca cola / mcdonalds are all good business models )

and these corporate chain stores wreak a havoc in the livlihoods of the veritable lunatics that are as much a part of the history of the place as smugglers and fishermen and the surf swept shores