A self-taught artist, he started to paint as a child, doing figure and landscapes for Christmas crèches.

He went on to study Journalism and received his bachelor's degree from the School of Philosophy of Bahia in 1953.

He was awarded a fellowship for travel abroad in 1962 by the XI National Salon of Modern Art.

He returned to Brazil in 1966, after accepting an invitation from the Central Institute of the Arts of the University of Brasília.

[4] Valentim's contributions to the art world as writer and essayist are documented in the archives of research institutes and museum libraries across the Americas.