Valoy Eaton paints quiet subjects with a universal message - a
message of truth, life and light. He believes that some of the
most profound subjects are found in everyday occurrences when
living close to nature.
In the 1960's, Valoy was teaching art and coaching basketball,
golf and tennis at a high school in Salt Lake Valley. Even though
he was enjoying his lifestyle, he considered himself to be sort of
"stuck in the mud." Something was missing-the chance to
achieve something special with his artwork. With the encouragement
of his wife, Ellie, he went to work painting during nights and
weekends and eventually entered a painting in the Utah State
Fair-professional division. When he won Best of Show he said,
"I sang all the way home and resolved to make some more good
things happen." After that, his career started to accelerate
and his work became more and more in demand from galleries and
collectors. In 1971 after receiving his Masters Degree in painting
and Design from BYU, he quit teaching school and began painting
full time. Since then, he has sold over 1700 of his
sunlight-filled oils and watercolors.
His career has led him to be invited to participate in prominent
gallery and museum shows across the U.S., including a one-man
retrospective show of 73 paintings at the Springville Art Museum
in 1982. He was voted a lifetime member of the National Academy of
Western Art, and later served as chairman of the prestigious
group. At their annual exhibition in Oklahoma City he won several
gold and silver medals for his landscapes. In 1988 he was
appointed by the Governor to serve on the Utah Arts Council,
representing the visual arts for the state. In 1995 he was honored
for his contribution to the arts by the Salt Lake Chamber of
Commerce, by having a portrait of him hung in Abravanel Hall, home
of the Utah Symphony Orchestra. The Utah Governor's Mansion Artist
Award was presented to him in 2002.
Valoy is an artist who looks at life and responds with paint and
brushes. His work is motivated by a reverence for nature and the
human condition. He has a strong appreciation for light and space,
shapes and colors. "Now," Valoy says, "maybe I can
build upon the great experiences I have had during the past 36
years and climb the ladder a step or two and make some more
special things happen. If an artist stops improving, he's
through."
