Born in Baltimore, Maryland, V.L. Maclean majored in Fine Art at Connecticut College for Women, in New London, Connecticut. She graduated with Honours BA in Fine Arts and went on to study figure drawing, lithography and wood cut at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin. Maclean then moved to Canada, living for several years in Cape Breton and then relocated to Antigonish , Nova Scotia, Canada. At St.Francis Xavier University, she has taught in the Fine Arts Department, been coordinator of the Continuing Education Art Programming and the gallery director for the St. Francis Xavier University Art Gallery. She currently works as a full time artist.