Bellevue, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/07/2014 -- Valerie Garner offers her new watercolor art painting called 'The Old French Mill'. She uses many layers of washes and glazes, along with a wet on wet and wet on dry techniques to reach this astonishing result, deciding to focus on the beautiful French mill topic.

Historic French mills remain a charming attribute of the past. They are powered by big water wheels. There are many old mills in France that remain until these days, so these intriguing and extremely useful buildings from the past are the topic of the most recent Valerie Garner's watercolor painting. The picture is painted in soft and bright colors with cheerful flowers. The final work has been created using many glaze and wash layers and it is sealed with a special UV protectant.

There are some interesting facts about these old French water mills built in France more than 700 years ago. They are built in English style in the period when this land has been occupied by English army. Their purpose has been to grind enough wheat flour for the English military garrisoned in France to keep their commercial interests, so they are a symbol of oppression for some people, while others consider them a symbol of the past, where no technologies were invented yet and the life has been a lot simpler than today. They have been built on the river's bank in the rural areas to use the water power to encircle the water mill. For that purpose, people have created nearby waterfalls used for the runoff to the mill pools.

After the end of the foreign invasion in France, the old water mills remain and local people started to use them to process the wheat and to make bread. Although many of these brick buildings are cracked with time and others are in complete ruins, these historic French mills are still an object of interest for many people, including artists, who would like to recreate their previous beauty and significance in people's life.

Using simple tools and intricate techniques, Valerie Garner, a talented artist has decided to dedicate her time and talent, to provide people with a reminder of the past life, where there have been no Internet, cell phones, computers, cars or other modern-day facilities, but the life has been free of stress and tension, when people have had enough time for themselves and for their loved ones. This positive suggestion springs out of 'The Old French Mill' painting; helping people to remember what are the most important things in their life.

People, who are interested in this and other paintings, created by Valerie Garner, can visit her website http://valerie-garner.artistwebsites.com/galleries.html.

About Valerie Garner
Valerie Garner is a self-taught artist who started to draw since her childhood and loves to experiment with different techniques, methods and effects to reach the best results. She was seriously involved in making fine art prints and photography before moving into the intriguing world of watercolor art.

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Bellevue, WA -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/26/2014 -- Valerie Garner's watercolors artwork focus on the beautiful Pacific Northwest in the U.S. where she lives, and she shows them off in an impressive online gallery www.art-watercolor.com

Valerie is a self-taught artist, her interest starting in childhood with a love of learning, color and working with her hands in various mediums. She became seriously involved in photography and making fine art prints. From there she moved into watercolor which she had always found intriguing. Valerie Garner says, "I love the medium of watercolor, the fluidity it provides, the degree of unpredictability, the look of soft pastels or strong and bold looks. I love the effect of adding different washes and textures, to see the moment when a painting 'pops'."

The use of different washes and textures combines for her personal technique: using several layers of glazes and washes, along with both wet on wet, and wet on dry.

Her online gallery is divided into sections. The viewer can browse Buildings, Christian Art, Flowers, Landscapes and Still Life. Each painting is accompanied by Valerie's description of how she happened to choose the subject. For example, one titled "Homestead Window" was inspired by a "love of country life, and the mountains where my grandparents had a homestead many years ago".

People looking for some art to bring a feel of the Northwest into their home or office, can choose between a fine art print or can buy the original, when available.

The paintings are displayed on www.art-watercolor.com . Valerie's photographs are displayed on a separate site www.valerie-garner.artistwebsites.com .

To see a YouTube of her work, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cujJteA2ZXQ. Actually, Valerie Garner has developed an entire product line, bringing her art into people's life in different ways. Customers can choose, from the distinctive watercolors, fine art photographs, canvas prints, framed prints, acrylic prints, standard prints, greeting cards and phone cases. Pricing and shipping information and how to contact Valerie directly with questions are detailed on the websites.

About Valerie Garner
Valerie Garner (http://art-watercolor.com) is a watercolor artist located in Bellevue, Wa. She offers a variety of topics in her paintings. New work is continually being added to her collection. Please visit her website for more information, and to see her work.

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