Some people inherit their passion through years of practice or discovery, but for artist Valerie Smith, it began at five years old with a wooden table, a crayon, and her mother’s encouragement.

“I thought I was drawing a dog,” Valerie recalls, chuckling. “My mom came over and said, ‘Valerie, that’s a beautiful horse!’”

That moment sparked a lifelong journey with art — and a love of horses — that continues today, thousands of sketches and paintings later. Horses have been ever-present in Valerie’s imagination, even during periods in life when her opportunities to see them in person were rare. Growing up in Los Angeles, her only glimpses of these majestic animals came from pony rides her dad treated her to and cowboy movies watched at a neighbor’s house.

“I didn’t see many horses in the city, but the idea of them, their strength and grace, stayed with me,” she said.

By the time she reached first grade, she was already known as the class artist, filling her notebooks with sketches of horses.

Smith’s early talent flourished in a family that valued creativity. She won a scholarship to the prestigious Otis Art Institute while in middle school. That experience helped develop Valerie’s keen eye for detail and her ability to render lifelike figures.

As an art student at UCLA in the 1960s, Valerie found herself surrounded by an abstract expressionist movement that contrasted sharply with her love for realism and detail. After earning her degree, Valerie taught art to middle schoolers for a few years and then spent 25 years working for California’s sales tax department.

“During breaks at work, I’d pull out a pencil and sketch,” she remembers. “Co-workers would bring me photos of spouses, pets, babies, and ask me to draw them. I never stopped creating.”

After retirement in 2011, Valerie and her husband moved to Crooked River Ranch, turning their dream of rural life into reality. On their property, they finally had space for horses — living embodiments of the animals that had inspired Valerie’s art since childhood. They bought a mustang and a quarterhorse, chickens, a cat and a dog.

Among the subjects that inspire her most are wild mustangs.

“Watching them run free, their manes blowing in the wind — that’s the epitome of beauty, grace, and freedom for me,” Smith said. She takes joy in sharing that love with the viewer. Her connection to these animals also extends to advocacy work. She’s been involved in efforts to protect wild horses from excessive restrictions and management practices that threaten their populations.

Smith categorizes her work as firmly grounded in realism, though that doesn’t mean she simply reproduces what she sees.

“For me, reality has all the beauty anyone could want,” she said.

However, Smith does add details or subtle changes to bring out an emotional quality, whether it’s in the dramatic curve of a running mustang’s mane or the glint of sunlight on a Friesian’s shiny black coat.

She works in a variety of media: graphite, pen and ink, pastel, colored pencil, and acrylic. The media itself brings joy in the process of creativity. From her reference photos, she builds every line, muscle, and shadow into place.

Her dedication has garnered local recognition, including recent awards at the Deschutes County Fair. Valerie also participates in numerous shows and exhibits throughout Central Oregon. Her work has been featured in venues like Art Adventure Gallery in Madras and is currently up at the Saint Charles Medical Center and Sotheby’s in Redmond.

For Smith, creating is also a refuge. She describes her artistic process as entering “the zone,” where time fades and focus sharpens.

“I get completely immersed while I’m working — listening to music, making sure every detail comes together as I envisioned it in my mind,” she said. “When I finish a piece, and it captures what I had hoped for, there’s this immense satisfaction.”

Even if Valerie isn’t completely happy with the result, she will set her work aside for a while and revisit it later.

“I like that you can paint over acrylic.”

Through her art, Valerie invites viewers to pause and appreciate the beauty of horses—not just their physical power but what they symbolize: freedom, resilience, and grace. For her, all her creations, even of other animals she paints, are more than images — they’re a celebration of life in motion.