Sydney Webb

president@grandartclub.org

Sydney was born in New York, raised in a very small Montana town and lived in Oregon for 55 years. From a very young age she was always drawing, sewing or creating something decorative. After high school she attended the University of Montana as an art major but soon realized she was interested in Graphic Arts which at the time was not available. A move to Oregon, marriage and 3 sons put her career on hold. She finally found Graphic Arts position available in Portland and got an AA degree in Commercial Art. The art classes she took helped her find watercolor and clay art. She started her own printing and graphics company that was very successful but she was never able to do the things she loved. A divorce and the loss of her business put her on a course that ended as the best thing that happened to her. She helped start and then run a homeless shelter for families. Because of her business background she turned around a financial mess and got the necessary funds to keep the shelter running. Ten years later she met her soulmate, they were high school sweethearts, and got married. After her second term as a Tigard City Councilor, finding a replacement at the shelter and renting her condo, they packed up and became “rainbirds”! They moved to The Grand in 2017 because Sydney wanted to pursue art again and both she and her husband love golf and swimming.

The Grand Art Club had cleared the cobwebs and she is painting and loving every minute of it. She took on the duties of President by accident. However, even with all the challenges and daily problems, she had found the volunteers at Grand Art are wonderful and do a tremendous job.

Vic Ritchey

vicepresident@grandartclub.org

Vic was born and raised in South-Central Pennsylvania in a small village near the city of Altoona. Being creative all his life, he grew up always interested in art. As an Art Major in High School he soon left for college to attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Shortly thereafter, he joined the Navy. Although relegated to paperwork as a Yeoman he was recognized as a creative individual and was designated as the ship’s illustrator. He designed naval flags and as well as illustrating many iconic designation symbols used throughout his ship. After serving, he began a career in the Graphic Arts Industry working with non-profit and insurance industries. Later, he transitioned to the Web Design field and worked as a UI Visual Designer. He designed many websites, email marketing campaigns, user interfaces and branding designs in the pharmaceutical, educational, technical, and financial industries. One of his favorite campaigns was working with Sally Fields, although never able to meet her in actual marketing meetings. He retired in 2016 after almost thirty years in the industry and moved full time to The Grand in 2019, although having various investment homes here since 2001.

Vic obtained his degree in Fine Arts, studying in Visual Arts and Fine Art Painting. As an artist, his main focus is in Oil Painting. He started as a teen painting portraits of his family. Voted "Most Artistic" in high school, he continues with figurative painting. His portraiture work often contains symbolism to communicate ideas about the painting's significance. Inviting the viewer to observe each artwork without any preconceived ideas, hoping to engage them in becoming a part of the piece.