A View of Knight's Valley
At the age of twenty-one, Jim McVicker became interested in art after visiting museums and seeing 19th-century French landscapes, particularly the work of the Barbizon School. The beauty and empathy seen in such pieces altered his worldview. McVicker began researching art history, created reproductions of French Impressionist landscapes, and enrolled in Chaffey Community College’s life drawing and painting workshops. He decided to become a full-time painter in 1975. He relocated from Ontario, California, where he was raised, to Northern California in quest of a quieter, more rural existence, which he found. He met and collaborated with various accomplished artists, painting landscapes on location or in the studio on a daily basis, always working from still-life setups or models. He learned by direct observation of nature, as well as by viewing and analysing noteworthy art.
Jim met Terry, his wife (a fellow artist) in 1984. Today, the pair lives in Loleta, California, a small rural community just south of Eureka, where McVicker pursues his passion for painting from life, attempting to capture the light, atmosphere, space, and mystery beauty all around us.His awards include the 2018 Artist Choice Award Maui Plein Air Invitational; the 2017 1st place in the plein air category of the Art Renewal Centre International Salon Competition, as well as three honourable mentions in the plein air category and a finalist in the still life category; the 2017 Best Composition, Best West Coast Artist, and Best New Artist to Easton Plein Air Festival, Easton Maryland; the 2016 and 2014 Best of Show at the Laguna Beach Plein Air Invitational; and the 2015 Gold Medalist. Jim McVicker is a California Art Club Signature Artist Member.
