Valerie Watson earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland in 1993. A painter known for her large-scale watercolors, Watson has been awarded an Individual Artist Grant Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, the Governor’s Award of Merit, a listing in Who’s Who in America and featured in a number of solo shows. Internationally, her paintings have been shown in Havana, Cuba; Asuncion, Paraguay; and currently in Rangoon, Burma. These exhibitions were organized by the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies Program. Watson was the Visual Arts Specialist of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission for many years and continues as adjunct professor of art at the Prince George’s Community College, Largo, Maryland, where she teaches Watercolor Painting. She also conducts artist workshops on both shores of the Chesapeake Bay.