Val Patterson fell in love with photography, by accident, while she was in college studying to be an Architect. After reluctantly taking a required introductory photo class at Santa Monica College, she put away her drafting table and found her true artistic calling behind the lens of a 1977 Nikon FM camera. Now over a decade later, Val has produced and published three conceptual photography books that showcase her work. The Mona Lisa Project, a series of costumed portraits featuring contemporary artists and celebrities including Sarah Silverman as Snow White and Jennifer Love Hewitt as Wonder Woman. The Pink Project, a charity photo book of pink-themed snapshots raising awareness for breast cancer and women’s causes. And most recently, The Red Herring. A series of cinematic landscapes, portraits and still lives inspired by female heroines from classic fairy tales, fiction, religion and mythology.
During her charity work and involvement with RAINN, Val collaborated with some of her favorite artists such as Tori Amos, Daryl Hannah, Dita Von Teese, Ingrid Michaelson, Mariska Hargitay, Tina Majorino, Erika Alexander, Chris Pine, Milo Ventimiglia and Stan Lee. Her advocacy for women’s causes gave her the opportunity to photograph former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during her Presidential Bid in 2008. Val’s conceptual fine art images have been published and featured in PHOTO+ Magazine in South Korea, F-Stop Magazine, Lenscratch, Tonelit Magazine, Fotofilmic, Redbird Editions, 591 Photography Blog and Forth Magazine. She has participated in group exhibitions at the Robert Berman Gallery, Smashbox Studios, PhotoPlace Gallery, The Perfect Exposure Gallery and Los Angeles Center of Photography.
