ADG Perspective

May-June 2017

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70 P E R S P E C T I V E | M AY / J U N E 2 0 1 7 milestones JACQUES VALIN 1927 – 2016 by his friend, Linda King Born and educated in France, Mr. Valin's basic training was in architecture. After WWII, he came to Toronto, Canada, where he worked as a draftsman, and in 1955, he moved to California and settled in Burbank where he was hired by WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) on the original Disneyland. Later, as a licensed architect, he continued to work for the Disney Company and freelanced for several Hollywood studios as a Set Designer. His credits included, among many others, The Bad Seed, The Spirit of St. Louis, Gypsy, The Music Man, Giant, The Great Race, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Cleopatra, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Cactus Flower, Spaceballs and Hook. After his retirement from the industry in 1994, he devoted much of his time to oil painting (en plein-air). Harbor scenes were among his favorite subjects. He always considered himself lucky to have met and been mentored by two master artists, Illustrator Herb Ryman and Russian painter Sergei Bongart. Jacques's son Michael, a general contractor, lives in San Pedro, with his wife Katie and their two young children, Kaleia and Sean. Prior to San Pedro, they had lived in Kilauea, Kauai, and whenever Jacques visited them, he fell under the spell of the grand Hawaiian scenery. The shapes and the colors of The Garden Isle together with its dramatic skies make it a constant source of inspiration. Mr. Valin said, "Yes, we live in a beautiful world and if, through our efforts, we can leave it just a little bit better than we found it, then it all makes sense." Clockwise from top: The opening reception for the artists in Howard Marchese's Fine Art Gallery in Marina Del Rey in 2011. Present here, left to right: Bernard Fallon, Karl Dempwolf, Jacques Valin, Vic Riesau, Julie Snyder, Nancy Carroll and Howard Marchese. Mr. Valin at home with another senior citizen. An oil painting by his friend Stephen Mirich of Mr. Valin painting under a tree at Portuguese Bend on Los Angeles County's Palos Verdes Peninsula. One of Mr. Valin's plein-air oil paintings.

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