Kim Valentine took over as director of the Zebulon Chamber of Commerce in December of 2009 and has since had a heavy hand in promoting art events in the surrounding area.

Valentine has been drawing since she was a child and has been painting off and on for the last 15 years. She’s allotted more time for art since she moved to the area five years ago and has spread her passion for art throughout the area.

She helped organize the first two annual art exhibits at the Wendell Woman’s Club and it took her little time to convince Zebulon commissioners in early 2010 the lobby of Zebulon Town Hall would make a perfect home for a rolling series of exhibits showcasing the work of local artists.

She’s currently working on forming an artist’s circle, in which eastern Wake artists can meet regularly and share their work with each other.

“Having all these exhibits has been great to meet other people sharing the same interest,” Valentine said. “I’ve met some amazing people with amazing ideas. I think by being able to meet and critique each others’ work we’d all be able to get something out of it. Everyone’s work is so much different. That’s what makes it so interesting.”

Valentine’s work is certainly different. She’s tried just about every media available to painters. She was into pastels for a while, but said it was too realistic for her, personally.

“With a teeny tiny brush in my hand I’d be painting each strand of hair on someone’s head,” she said. “I wasn’t enjoying myself as much.”

Over the last year Valentine found a method that has stuck — painting with paper towels. She began taking classes with an artist named Robert Burridge and gained a liking for painting with less control, as she described it.

“I just see what happens,” she said. “I thought it would be something to loosen me up a little bit. I’m still experimenting with where I’m heading with this, but at least I’m enjoying the ride.”

She showed eight of her paintings as part of the gallery series at Zebulon Town Hall from May to June of 2011.

As for organizing an artists’ group in eastern Wake County, Valentine has recently met with the United Arts Council of Wake County to try and learn how other groups gained their footing early on.

One of her goals is for local artists to unite and hold shows — maybe even find a permanent gallery space to exhibit their work in one of the local towns sometime in the near future.

“I’ve got big dreams,” Valentine said. “It’s just getting it all together that’s difficult. But art is something I love and support.”