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Jerry Vallez - Welcome
Well known & well respected as one of the best Naples Florida Artists
Naples Florida Artist Jerry Vallez, signature member of the International Society of Marine Painters, was 4 years old when his family moved to Paris. His artist mother started him off on his painting career with a tutor at age 7, and he’s been painting ever since. Jerry’s family returned home to the United States at the outbreak of WWII.
After dedicating three years of his life to the Navy, Jerry then went to Bradley University where he paid his way with the assistance of the GI Bill of Rights, and by creating hand painted neckties (none of which are known to have survived the years, but are among his earliest art sales). After graduating from Bradley University, Jerry and Robah (his wife of 53 years) moved to Illinois where he established his first studio. Daughters Michelle and Lisa were born, 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, and finally 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”, (which can be seen by clicking on the More Photos button at the top of the page). Jerry’s painting “Kelly’s Fish House and the Gordon River Bridge” is in the permanent Collection of the Von Liebig Art Center located right here in Naples Florida. Jerry’s paintings are included in many Corporate and private collections, and his latest contribution was the painting of a large mural which can be seen in the TIB Bank, also located in Naples Florida.
Jerry Vallez Featured - Corporate Collections
-S C Johnson & Son Inc. (Johnson Wax), Wisconsin
-Smith Lesher Insurance
-The Ritz Carlton Naples, Florida
-The Cleveland Clinic - Naples Hospital
-The Cleveland Clinic - Weston Hospital
-The Registry Resort - Naples, Florida
-The Edgewater Beach Hotel - Naples, Florida
-The TIB Financial Center - Naples, Florida
Jerry Vallez - Awards & Recognitions
-Listed in the bicentennial edition of Wisconsin Men of Distinction
-Featured in the permanent collection of the Von Liebig Art Center of Naples, Florida
-Signature member of the International Society of Marine Painters
-First place winner of the 1986 Sea Heritage Foundation National Marine Art Competition
-Named best Artist in Gulf Shore Life - Best of the Gulf Shore 2001 edition
-Jerry Vallez is represented by Art of the Sea Gallery - South Thomaston, Maine
The Jerry Vallez Story - Top Florida Artists
Born in Yonkers, New York, Jerry Vallez (Arthur J. Vallez) spent his childhood years from the age of four to fourteen in France where his father was manager of the Paris branch of an American engineering company. During these early years, he was encouraged to develop his artistic talent by his mother, herself an artist, who accompanied him on frequent visits to the Louvre and provided a tutor when the young painter was seven.
The Vallez family returned to the United States at the outbreak of WWII. At the age of seventeen Jerry joined the U.S. Navy and served a three-year tour of combat duty in the South Pacific aboard the U.S.S. Montpelier. He then attended Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.
Vallez has lived in New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Illinois and Wisconsin. In 1971, he and his family settled in Naples where he first established his studio at Naples Marine, now the site of Tin City. He has continued to travel, always with an eye to new and interesting subjects for his paintings.
“As far back as I can remember” Vallez recounts, “I have been fascinated by the sea and its shores, by “they that go down to the sea in ships” and by their vessels. I’ve been collecting ship models and objects nautical since age 11 when my father bought me a “ship in a bottle” on the docks of Saint Malo in Brittany at a time when schooners were still sailing to the Grand Banks to fish for cod.
“By age 14, I had crossed the Atlantic by ocean liner four times. By age 20 I had spent three years in the Navy, two-and-a-half of them at sea. I have owned four boats ranging from 10 feet to 42 feet and have held a captain’s license for vessels up to 60 tons. All of this has influenced me a great deal toward marine art.”
Vallez works in a realistic style and enjoys experimenting with diverse media including pencil, watercolor, egg tempera, oil, and acrylic.
His paintings are found in many private and corporate collections such as S.C. Johnson & Son Inc. of Racine Wisconsin, and the Ritz-Carlton of Naples. He has contributed prints and paintings toward auctions that have raised thousands of dollars for local charitable organizations including Youth Haven and the Conservancy.
Vallez was listed in the bicentennial issue of “Wisconsin Men of Achievement”. His first entry in national competition was in 1986 with his painting “Gale Force” which was awarded first prize in the annual Sea Heritage Foundation Marine Art Competition. In 1988, the International Society of Marine Painters voted Vallez to professional artist membership.
Most recently, in 1998, Vallez’ work was selected to be a part of the inaugural permanent collection of the Von Liebig Art Center of the Naples Art Association.
He and wife Robah, also an artist, are permanent residents of Naples where he maintains his studio at 1183 8th Street South, Naples, Florida. This is one of those Naples Florida Art Galleries you don't want to miss, and in doing so you will see why Jerry is at the top of the list for Marine Artists and Florida Artists.
See a small sample of Jerry's work - click on photo gallery at the top of this page. |
