Val Parker

Box 12: 97, St Thomas’s Square

Val Parker took up painting at the age of 40, after being bored of the routine of housework, childcare and working life. With the encouragement of her sister they attempted to enrol on an evening exercise class. Fortunately (for us), the class was not running and so Val chose to attend the art group.

Since then she has continued to work continuously in a variety of media and forms. In our conversation with Val about her work she says that she likes to paint ‘anything and everything’, producing drawings, sculptures, oil paintings and collages either as commissions or personal projects. For the last 18 years Val has been affected by Parkinson’s disease, which has made her achievements as an artist even more astonishing. 

A resident of Cambridge all her life, Val moved from a prefab to a house to the Birdwood neighbourhood when she was 2 years old. The subjects of Val’s work often reflect her longstanding involvement with the local community and family.