About the Artist

Vickey Hluchanek-Monan has been active in artistic endeavors for over forty years. She won her first art award in elementary school, and at an earlier age was active in the creative element. 

She won “Best of Show” in a High School program for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo scholarship art program- 1976. And while in HS/College she worked for two Certified Master Photographers, Patsy Hodge and Marian Oles; while acquiring her degree. Art has always been a part of her life and to her it is a lifelong passion.

She has acquired a BFA degree/Commercial Art in 1982 from Texas State University, also completed an accredited certification from Art Instruction Schools, Inc./Minneapolis, MN in 1977. And, while working fulltime she attended Houston Community College in Houston, TX an took computer graphics once the Macintosh was invented in the mid-1980's. 

Vickey worked a career in graphics management for over 25 yrs while living in four states before moving to Maryland and Virginia. She was a past instructor in Graphic Communications for the University of Houston’s Department of Technology. And she has managed in advertising, print production management, and was a business corporation magazine editor. She contributed her photography and design for newsletters of organizations and has entered her work into  Fine Art exhibits at different times during the past thirty-five years. She has lived most of her life in Texas, but has traveled to many US states, and to a dozen foreign countries during the past thirty five years. While living in Texas, she had previously won regional and national awards for some of her work in commercial art and photography, as well. 

A “Best of Texas” award for a historical limited edition print, “The Texas Legacy,” brought recognition as one of the first pieces utilizing extensive photo manipulation with text nearly thirty-five years ago. This was prior to the layout usage of QuarkExpress and Pagemaker.  The promotional poster was entered in the Texas Graphic Excellence Awards Exhibit. She did the promotional work or that exhibit as well.  She won later two silver awards from the Houston Advertising Federation with designs in commercial projects.  She won a“Best in the Nation” newsletter/promotional work for their organization, Alpha Phi International. Which was for her  Houston Alumnae Sorority organization in Houston, TX. She has also helped to win many awards for past clients in graphic excellence while managing in advertising.

During 2005 she won a Silver Award with an International photography show in Maryland, for a landscape sunrise at “St. Mary’s County at St. George Island.”

Most recently, she has exhibited in two Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts- FCCA National juried exhibits in Fredericksburg,VA; and also their regional events during 2009-2010. She has exhibited in a solo show in Fredericksburg VA; and did five exhibits during 2008-2009; in Colonial Beach, VA. Her Colonial Beach, VA participation was with the Second Friday Art walk for the local art Guild in Colonial Beach, VA.

She won first place in the spring 2009 for Calvert Artist Guild, Inc. , in the landscape/watercolor category where she has been a member for several years. In 2010 she won two second place ribbons in the Drawing and Photography categories as well.
During July, 2010 she was a Members Gallery Exhibitor, with Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, FCCA member Sandy Leigh Skipper for thier exhibit- "Exotic Locals," for the FCCA in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  And in August, 2010 she  was a featured 'guest artist' of the TV show "Artscapes" that ran on cable station in the Southwest Virginia area promoting the show at FCCA. The local area newspaper also ran a nice print article advertising the exhibit.

She acquired and honorable mention in Annapolis Maryland Watercolor Club's Regional Competition as well in 2010.

Currently she and her husband Patrick, have been residing in Virginia where she has retired to their farm. More recently she worked  for Zenetex, LCC Company in California, Maryland as Program Analyst/Graphic Designer for the Saudi Naval Expansion Program, SNEP II in assisting the United States Navy International Programs Offices.  And, also worked for the Taiwan H-1 Helicopter Program. She provided graphic designs for the Saudi SNEP II, and did administrative logistic work for the H-1 Program.

She has original artwork and photography in private collections in Virginia and Texas.

She has been a past member of the Calvert Artists Guild, Inc. (CAG) in Southern Maryland, the Annapolis Maryland Watercolor Club, and Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts, in Fredericksburg (FCCA), Virginia; and the Center for the Creative Arts in Shrewsbury, New Jersey.  Vickey is an alumnae of Texas State University.  She and her husband have in the past helped to volunteer their time and some donations of her artwork to the local auction for the American Chestnut Land Trust, (ACLT)  organization local settings at the Land Trust.

They were members/officer's of Civic Associations in Calvert and St. Mary's counties in Maryland.  Her husband is a Program Manager for the United States Navy Foreign Military Sales organization, and manages for Royal Australian Air Force, foreign country’s programs for Naval Air Systems Command in Southern Maryland. He is an avid hunter as well. She and her husband, Patrick are both lovers of nature and history and travel. They have experienced their travels in the United States and abroad Internationally.

She continues to explore the nature around her and plans her next painting or photo shoot during her travels. Currently, she has been at home  after hand surgeries, and is retired.  She spends time gathering research materials for her new studio, once there is success in recovering from some medical surgery's, challenges with her hands and other chronic illness battles,  she  plans to return with a studio in the future.  Some Watercolor work and will also include some fabric/quilting designs, utilizing vintage sewing machines, of which a treadle machine will be for illustration/quilting use.

She plans to continue the passion of the creative and spreads the spirit within her – through NAMESTE Designs.