California figurative artists Marques Vickers presents a personal creative overview of 2003 showing 65+ images of paintings and sculpture completed during that year. The 66-page ebook includes poetry and personal observations on the process of creating visual art. The publication serves as a present day creative commentary into one artists insight into his own creative evolution and future direction. Vickers has exhibited his work internationally and been profiled extensively in media worldwide. He is a recognized spokesperson for utilizing the Internet as a marketing vehicle within the fine arts industry and has published several books and lectured extensively throughout the United States.
MAC 21 International Contemporary Art Fair 2003 Art Competition Selection (Marbella, Spain) (September)
Meeting One of My Influences, Concha Benedito
ARTICLES:
"California Artist Releases Initial Series of Neo-Formalism Sculptures-Sculpture From The Inside Out" (September)
"ArtMailingLists.com Website Ads New Mailing Lists for Artists and Art Galleries" (September)
"Vickers Selected for Fourth Consecutive Year at Spanish MAC21 Art Fair" (July)
"Low Cost Professional Royalty-Free Photo CD's Introduced" (June)
"OBITUARY: California Landscape Artist John Vickers" (March)
"Sculpting A Career" (January)
California Artist Releases Initial Series of Neo-Formalism Sculptures-Sculpture From The Inside Out
California artist Marques Vickers recently released his newest "Neo-Formalism" series of full figurative sculptures. The full body figures trace their roots and influence from a synthesis of the San Francisco Bay Area Figurative movement of the late 1950's and the preceding Abstract Expressionism and nonobjective school of painting.
"Neo-Formalism is a contemporary articulation of the human figure," notes Vickers, "incorporating 
20th century introduced design and form elements including abstract color fields, textile and fiber materials and industrial polyurethane resigns. This altered three-dimensional visage is a fusion of: 1) Constructing the figurative model from an inward-outward perspective as opposed to the lost wax casting method of exterior mold-interior pour and 2) Integrating abstractive color field principles to accentuate skin depth, muscle tone and the inherent tensions of figure shadowing."
The Neo-Formalism sculptures will be available through art gallery, upscale furniture and reseller outlets worldwide with updated inventory available for viewing through Vickers principle website at MarquesV.com. Dealer and representation inquiries are welcomed by the artist.
"The finished objective is a full human figure lacking a traditional smooth skin finish and pigment coloration, yet still maintaining recognizable features. The industrial resin surface casting makes the finished work durable and resilient despite its light weight."
Vickers, 45, of Vallejo, California has exhibited his figurative paintings and sculptures extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area along with several international venues. His 2003 painting "Perspective" was recently selected for inclusion into an international showcase at the MAC21 Contemporary Art Fair in Marbella, Spain. This is the fourth consecutive year that Vickers has had one of his works selected for exhibition in the competition. His work has been commissioned by several American corporations including the US Small Business Administration, eDaddyWarbucks.com and Franciscan Vineyards as well as inclusion into several private contemporary art collections. His biography has been selected in the most recent 2003 "Who's Who in America" and has also been selected for inclusion in the 2004 edition.
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Various National Publications (December)
Art industry trade website ArtMailingLists.com recently added several new marketing sales tools for resale including expanded regional media contact and Interior Decorator data base directories. The unique low cost direct snail and emailing list offerings provide a valuable resource for visual fine artists, art galleries and art organizations.
The focus of the promotional lists are for artists, galleries and resellers looking to market and sell directly to art buyers including corporate facility managers, licensing agencies and agent representatives, motion picture and television production companies, international media, greeting card publishers and other market segments.
"We're continuing to expand our inventory of available sales lists based on the input of artists and other industry related sources," noted website owner Marques Vickers, a California based Figurative artist. "Cultivating media relations for greater exposure and targeting Interior Decorators, a significant source of artwork sales are potentially important forward movements for visual artists."
Each of the promotional mailing lists are priced at or under $65 enabling affordability and are compiled on Microsoft Excel files enabling unlimited use, mailing list convertibility and compatibility with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems.
ArtMailingLists.com is an offshoot of Marquis Publications (www.ArtsInAmerica.com) based in Vallejo, California. Marquis Publications publishes 1) ebooks on marketing and buying fine art online, 2) royalty-free digital image photo discs 3) nonfiction and fiction titles and 4) a bimonthly ezine "Selling Art on The Internet".
Various National Publications (September)
Vallejo, California Figurative Artist Marques Vickers has been selected as a participating artist in the 2003 art competition of the MAC21 International Contemporary Art Fair to be held in Marbella, Spain, September 10-14. For the fourth consecutive year, one of his paintings "Perspective", an acrylic on canvas work (dimensions: 54 x26") will be included in the wall of images displayed at the entrance to the Art Fair held annually at the Marbella Exhibition & Congress Centre.
"I'm very pleased once again to participate in this international venue which is the second largest Contemporary art exhibition in Spain," noted Vickers. "To be included in such a select group of international artists based on the merit of the work and not industry political connections or gallery affiliation is flattering recognition for any visual artist. Spain is one of the important cradles of the 20th and 21st century contemporary art movement and this form of recognition is an important milestone in charting my professional growth." Winning entries and information on the exhibition can be viewed on the MAC21 website at www.mac21.com.
Vickers, 45, of Vallejo, California was a 1979 graduate of Azusa Pacific University and has completed postgraduate work at the University of Bourgogne in Dijon, France. He was the Executive Director of the Burbank, California Chamber of Commerce from 1979-84 and Vice-President of Sales for AsTRA Tours and Travel of Los Angeles from 1984-86. His own entrepreneurial ventures since 1987 have included MarquisTours (www.EscapetoRelax.com), US Sportsmarque (an apparel exporting enterprise) and ArtMailingLists.com (a press release distribution service and mailing list reseller).
Vickers has shown extensively in the San Francisco Bay Area including exhibitions at the Vorpal Gallery in San Francisco, Gloria Ferrer Champagne Cellars and Mark West Vineyards. His work has been acknowledged in several international art competitions and showcased throughout the United States on a Tricom Pictures television production, corporate commissions and designed a wine label for Franciscan Vineyards in conjunction with the prestigious Napa Valley Wine Auction. His work was commissioned for the opening of the US Small Business Administration's Silicon Valley Entrepreneur Center in San Jose, California.
He began publishing his own Internet web site at www.marquesv.com in late 1999 has received numerous awards and media recognitions for its layout and content. He has published five books and a monthly electronic magazine entitled "Selling Art On The Internet" through his company Marquis Publications (www.ArtsInAmerica.com) which is distributed internationally. He is a published writer in numerous publications, has been profiled extensively in print and electronic media throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and internationally. He conducts seminars (FineArtSeminars.com) for visual artists and galleries on selling art through the Internet and actively sells his work on over 30+ international business exchange, B2B, auction and art portfolio websites. He has been honored in the 2003 and upcoming 2004 edition of "Who's Who in America" and is a member of the Set Decorators Society of America for motion pictures and television.
His work is part of the corporate collections of the US Small Business Administration/ Cisco Systems E-Commerce Complex in San Jose, California, Franciscan Estates (Wine Label Design) in the Napa Valley, eDaddyWarbucks.com, Phoenix Rehabilitation Programs, Inc. of Concord, California, United States Consulate in Warsaw, Poland, The Farrington Design Group of Atlanta, Georgia, RPD Properties of Century City, California, Graphic Ambitions of San Antonio, Texas, St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School and the New England Christian Media Ministries. His art biography is published in two ebook entitled "First Five" and "The Road Towards Vision".
Various National Publications (September)
Marquis Publications, digital imagery creators and distributors announced the release of a new series of low cost royalty-free stock photography compact disks.
"These images are ideal," according to Marquis owner Marques Vickers, "for brochures, websites, print advertising layouts, reports, presentations, newsletters, lithographed display material, book design and web advertising. Collectors of fine art may wish to reprint the images and mount them for interior artwork as well since they are artistic quality high resolution images."
"Price sensitivity is an important yet forgotten niche market for royalty-free images," notes Vickers, "as most production companies must traditionally charge excessive fees to cover production costs, royalty fees for the photographers (sometimes upfront) and expensive four-color promotional marketing materials. Since all aspects of our production is done in-house and marketing is exclusively web-based, we can pass on these production and selling cost savings in the form of substantially lower retail pricing."
The retail price for each photo disk is $29.95 and can be purchased directly on the Marquis website at www.MixedColors.com along with other online book sales outlets including Amazon.com. Individual unlimited use royalty-free photo images can also be purchased directly from the MixedColors.com website.
The initial series of released photo compact disks include: 1) Fantasy Journey (Worldwide Travel Images), 2) "April in New England" 3) San Antonio, Texas Riverwalk and 4) Urban Perspectives (Urban Images of Buildings and City Scenes). Each photo disk includes between 46 and 80 images varying upon the subject matter.
Art Business News Magazine (June Issue)
Vallejo, California based watercolor, abstractionist and landscape painter John "Jack" Vickers, 80, died following an extended illness Wednesday afternoon, March 12, 2003. A native of Livermore, California and a resident for over 50 years in Vallejo, California, Vickers was renowned within the community as both an educator and contemporary artist.
During his 50+ year art career, he was represented by numerous San Francisco Bay area galleries and art shows and was an award winner in the 1954-56 California State Fair. "The predominance of his work involved watercolor media, noted his son Marques Vickers, a Northern California Figurative artist, " depicted the California landscape of his imagination. He typified his watercolors as a modified West Coast style of painting. His nonobjective acrylic paintings were visions of forms and shapes representing attitudes and ideas from his personal environment. "Vickers graduated from the California College of Arts in Crafts in Oakland in 1949 following a stint in the Pacific Fleet on the USS Fulton during World War II with the United States Navy as a Pharmacist Mate First Class. He completed his Masters of Fine Arts and Commercial Arts degree in 1957 from San Francisco State University. In 1950, he began a secondary teaching career at both the high school and community college level specializing in Fine Arts. From 1949-80, he was an art instructor in the Vallejo, California Unified School District. Upon retiring from teaching in 1980, he focused on his watercolor and nonobjective painting, employing techniques which he had been teaching throughout his academic career.
"His approach to painting was the pragmatic seeking of forms, colors and solid drawing principles, discarding all insignificant matter," noted his son. He felt that paintings should be viewed as an extension of the viewer's feelings towards their personal experience of life beauty and knowledge."
He is survived by his wife Anne of 52 years, children Cathy, Marques and Lisa, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his brother Thomas, mother Ursula and father Lee.
Various National Publications (March)
An invitation to participate in the 2003 Florence Art Biennale in Italy is a prominent recognition for most artists, but for artist Marques Vickers, it's just one more feather in his hat.
Apart from sculpting, the 45-year-old Vallejo artist has already accomplished much in his career, including creating a travel company and press release distribution service. But there's more on Vickers' palette than a paintbrush these days.
Vickers was selected by a panel of international art historians and critics to represent the United States at the fourth Biennale Internazionale dell'Arte Contemporannea in Florence, Italy. Taking place in December, the event will showcase more than 650 artists from 54 countries.
His biographical profile was also recently selected for the 57th edition of Marquis' "Who's Who in America," scheduled to be released this month.
Adding to this, the artist just returned from a three-day trip to the River Walk in San Antonio,
Texas, where he photographed the touristic meandering green river and its quaint surroundings. This will be made into a photo CD with distribution in the near future. He is also in the process of compiling two more photo CDs that consist of urban landscapes and his work from 2002, respectively.He didn't gravitate toward art until his late 30s, when he visited Northern Europe and was inspired towards abstract styles by artist Manuel Neri of Benicia.
Vickers claims that creating art is a fluid process with no endpoint. And although there might be a destination , there is never a point of arrival.
But arriving closer to his destination is what Vickers has done. After "playing the game" (having galleries represent his works), Vickers now wants to break free of this pattern and represent himself. Yet this has been a trying feat.
"When you don't play the game, you don't have the network of contacts and you hit a brick wall pretty quickly. If you try to appease them, your prospects get limited," Vickers said.
Wanting to be well-rounded to increase his prospects of selling his work, Vickers has ventured into other territories. Although he started as a metal sculptor, his work has now expanded to include paintings and photography. he feels the three areas simultaneously feed off one another.
Even his metal work has grown. he now includes totemic figures that can be displayed outdoors.
Unlike most artists who use brokers, curators and galleries as a means to promote their work, Vickers relies on networking, the Internet and his determination.
For gallery owners and major sellers of art, this type of thinking raises a red flag, according to Vickers.
"If an artist sells without them (gallery owners and art sellers), it's construed as competition," Vickers piqued. "The industry is condescending and it's insulting."
As a result, Vickers created a Web site to showcase his work.
"I want to break new ground," Vickers said. "And I want to do this my way via the Internet."
Included in the series of photographs and sculptural images found on his Web site, www.MarquesV.com, are several paintings of faceless one-breasted women under the "nude" subsection.
Though Vickers says he's unaware of his motivation for producing these images, he states that art is created from the gut.
With an ongoing theme of romance and intimacy reflected in his work, the artist doesn't mind that his work can be a bit edgy for some.
"I don't want to take the safe path. If people are uncomfortable, than fine. It forces and challenges people to think," Vickers said.
But don;t confuse Vickers' art with Madonna publicity tactics. Vickers does not create his images for shock value, but rather to provide a reality check.
Considering the various feathers he sports on his hat, Vickers is certain he's on the right path.
"I know ultimately where I'm going. How I get there, I don't know, but I'm confident," Vickers said.
Fairfield Daily Republic by Andrea Garcia (January 16th Issue)
Photo By Judith Sagami/Daily Republic
Galleries West Magazine (Canada): "Finders Keepers-Online Art Is Big Business" (September Issue)
Columns:
Art Calendar: "Your Art Should Be In (Motion) Pictures" (February Issue)
Art Source Quarterly: "Cashless Transactions" (Winter 2003 Issue)