Meet Valerie Veneziano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Valerie Veneziano. They and their team shared their story with us below:

Valerie Veneziano founded The Little Gallery a few years after her grandfather Walt Little passed away. He was a WWII Air Force veteran who later taught college art. He loved using charcoal and chalk to draw portraits, watercolor landscapes, and created abstract paintings using different mediums. He has a few murals around Orange County and also created pottery and sculptures. We have a collection of his modern artwork ranging from 1940-1970 that are for sale along with contemporary artwork from herself and other local artists. You can view the collection and store at our website and message us with any sales inquiries, art commission requests, or new artist submissions at [email protected]. You can catch us at local art walks, too, around Southern California! Our company’s mission is to provide original, affordable art to customers while helping local artists sell their work for a higher profit.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The Little Gallery is three years old, and like all new small companies, the first few years are quite a challenge. Walt Little passed away and gave Valerie some of his created art in the inheritance. There was so much artwork that she didn’t know what to do with it all and felt bad storing it away, never to be seen. She wanted to share it with the world, so she reached out to a few brick-and-mortar art galleries in Los Angeles and Orange County to see if they were interested in taking his modern artwork. A few wanted particular pieces, but after finding out the costs, she decided to form her own art gallery online.

At first, she added all of Walt’s art, then decided to turn it into a family gallery and added hers and her daughter’s. She created social media accounts to help market the pieces on multiple platforms but noticed no one was buying anything. She then took the art to the people in person and set up booths at different local art walks. She was able to finally get some sales! She noticed that because the artwork was vintage, it was very fragile, so she had to be careful when transporting it as she accidentally ripped a couple of pieces. She put art in frames and professional portfolios and made sure to wrap it with bubble wrap when transporting to show in her booth.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Valerie is the founder and CEO of The Little Gallery. She is a contemporary artist from Southern California who enjoys painting with acrylic, oil, and watercolor. She also enjoys handcrafting ornaments with sea shells and fairy gardens. She creates fantasy, nature, figurative, and expressionism forms of art and is continuing to build her portfolio by painting and crafting new collections. She loves to express forms of magic and the intricacies of creation within the microscopic, plant, and animal kingdoms. Valerie welcomes requests for commission work and invites you to browse her available work for sale on her website www.thelittlegalleryart.com.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
The art industry is entirely dependent on how the market is doing because it is a luxury, not a need. Famous artwork is purchased from wealthy families and companies because they are investments, but the infamous artwork is purchased by the average person per their tastes, which change constantly. Being an artist is hard because you are a slave to other people’s tastes if you use your art to make a living and you forgo your passions sometimes to cater to pop art. I want to be authentic as an artist, and I want other artists to be too. I also want original art to be affordable to everyone. There were many times I wanted to buy an original piece but could only afford a print from galleries, and I’m sure lots of other people had to make due that way too. I would like to host more local, new, and upcoming artists on my website and share booths with them at art walks to help them gain traction and sales within the next 5-10 years. I would eventually like to own a brick and mortar art gallery!

Pricing:

• Paintings range from $50 – $1500
• Drawings range from $20-$200
• Prints range from $10 – $50
• Jewelry range from $5 – $100
• Music ranges from $1 – $20

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thelittlegalleryart.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thelittlegallery.art
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thelittlegallery.art
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/valerie-veneziano-52304731
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLittleGalle3
• Other: www.pinterest.com/thelittlegalleryart