JERRY VALLEZ
Jerry Vallez, born in 1927, was 4 years old when his family moved to France where his father Art worked for an American firm based in Paris. Mary, his artist mother, started him off on his painting career with a tutor at age 7. Summer vacations were spent in Brittany where Jerry developed his love for the sea and shore. With World War II threatening, Jerry’s family returned home to the United States when he was thirteen.
After 3 years of wartime Naval service in the South Pacific, Jerry attended Bradley University. There, he paid his way with the assistance of the GI Bill, and by creating and selling hand-painted neckties. Jerry met his wife Robah during their college years in Peoria, Illinois. Afterwards, the couple moved to Highland Park where daughters Michelle and Lisa were born. Jerry established his first studio there and, in 1963, Jerry entered his first competitive show, The Chicago Arts Festival at McCormick Place where he was one of 53 artists accepted out of the over 800 entries. Jerry opened an additional summer studio in Door County, Wisconsin, which he maintained for several years after he and his family settled in Naples, Florida in 1971.
In 1976 Jerry was listed in the bicentennial issue of Wisconsin Men of Distinction and in 1986 he won first place in an International Marine Art competition held in New York at Madison Square Garden. The title of the painting for this prestigious award is “Gale Force.” Jerry’s painting “Kelly’s Fish House and the Gordon River Bridge” is in the permanent collection of the Von Liebig Art Center in Naples. Jerry’s works are included in numerous corporate and private collections around the country. His murals grace many local homes as well as the lobby of Capital Bank on the north Tamiami Trail. In December, 2012, Jerry was honored with an exhibit and celebration for his 40-year history of painting in and around Crayton Cove.
Jerry died on September 15, 2012 from the effects of a stroke one month earlier. Robah had preceded him by 16 months, just shy of their 60th wedding anniversary. At the time of his death, he had 5 works in progress with plans for more.
For more information, visit Jerry Vallez Studio on Facebook, or jerryvallez.com.
Jerry Vallez, born in 1927, was 4 years old when his family moved to France where his father Art worked for an American firm based in Paris. Mary, his artist mother, started him off on his painting career with a tutor at age 7. Summer vacations were spent in Brittany where Jerry developed his love for the sea and shore. With World War II threatening, Jerry’s family returned home to the United States when he was thirteen.
After 3 years of wartime Naval service in the South Pacific, Jerry attended Bradley University. There, he paid his way with the assistance of the GI Bill, and by creating and selling hand-painted neckties. Jerry met his wife Robah during their college years in Peoria, Illinois. Afterwards, the couple moved to Highland Park where daughters Michelle and Lisa were born. Jerry established his first studio there and, in 1963, Jerry entered his first competitive show, The Chicago Arts Festival at McCormick Place where he was one of 53 artists accepted out of the over 800 entries. Jerry opened an additional summer studio in Door County, Wisconsin, which he maintained for several years after he and his family settled in Naples, Florida in 1971.
In 1976 Jerry was listed in the bicentennial issue of Wisconsin Men of Distinction and in 1986 he won first place in an International Marine Art competition held in New York at Madison Square Garden. The title of the painting for this prestigious award is “Gale Force.” Jerry’s painting “Kelly’s Fish House and the Gordon River Bridge” is in the permanent collection of the Von Liebig Art Center in Naples. Jerry’s works are included in numerous corporate and private collections around the country. His murals grace many local homes as well as the lobby of Capital Bank on the north Tamiami Trail. In December, 2012, Jerry was honored with an exhibit and celebration for his 40-year history of painting in and around Crayton Cove.
Jerry died on September 15, 2012 from the effects of a stroke one month earlier. Robah had preceded him by 16 months, just shy of their 60th wedding anniversary. At the time of his death, he had 5 works in progress with plans for more.
For more information, visit Jerry Vallez Studio on Facebook, or jerryvallez.com.