Charles Addicott is new to the Valley Arts Group, but not to Sudden Valley. He retired from the US Army in 1985 where he commanded several helicopter units in Vietnam as well as a fixed-wing aircraft company in Saudi Arabia. With his late wife, Wendy-Ann, he constructed their home, where he has lived ever since. Together they designed and built an art studio that is the envy of us all.
The jump from Army Lieutenant Colonel to full-time artist may seem huge. But he has been interested in art since grade school when the teacher chose one of his drawings to display on the hall wall. Then In high school, he was both president of the art club and–while working in a grocery store—his talent emerged in window signs and Snow Boy statues.
Art took a back seat at Oregon State University where he majored in the very practical: agriculture and Army ROTC. In college, where Charles was student body president and a member of the athletic board, he traveled with the OSU football team that played in the 1957 Rose Bowl. He followed that degree with a master’s in Contract Management at the Florida Institute of Technology.
After his successful career in the Army, he obtained a Fine Arts degree from Western Washington University, attending with his daughter—who says he was the better student. He has completed work in several media including oil, watercolor, carving, and clay. He tackled a stump in his front yard, creating a sculpture which lasted until nature dissolved it.
He now focuses on subjects dear to his heart such as carousels, horses, seascapes, farm scenes and other landscapes. His hope is that artists would expand their presentations and media experimentation. Charles hopes that non-artists could be inspired by his portfolio.
Charles is no stranger to displaying in the Barn, but this will be new work. There will be a calligraphy piece, and also a thought-provoking watercolor. Sale of notecards with his “Man on a Bench” and “Things to remember” are available to sale. Proceeds will benefit the Valley Arts Group Scholarship fund.
Valley Arts Group 