The first piece Valdez acquired was a Southwestern Indian landscape watercolor by W. Onefeather—a serene composition that captured both earth and spirit in delicate washes of color. Not long after, he returned to the same gallery in Blackhawk, California, to purchase its companion piece. That was in 1991, the quiet beginning of what would become a lifelong dialogue with art.

W. Onefeather, a notable contemporary artist, is celebrated for his evocative portrayals of identity, culture, and nature. His paintings often feature two or three pottery bowls—symbols of heritage and continuity—woven naturally into the desert landscape. Onefeather’s work has been exhibited widely and remains admired for its lyrical balance of tradition and modern vision.

From those first watercolors, Valdez’s collection has grown into a vast and deeply personal archive. It includes a cycle of watercolor landscapes inspired by his travels; paintings of California mission churches he has visited; exquisite Japanese textile and fabric art; traditional Japanese instruments rendered with reverence; and many other treasures gathered over decades.

He gravitates toward landscape art, music-themed compositions, and floral and animal studies—works that harmonize emotion, craft, and story. Many pieces are large-scale, commanding attention not through grandeur alone but through the quiet intimacy of their detail.

Today, Valdez’s collection encompasses more than 300 works, each carefully catalogued and beautifully presented in an art book he designed and published himself—a testament not only to his eye for beauty, but to a lifetime of devotion to the visual arts.