Rick Wells

Painter Rick Wells has long ties to the South and its unique artistic expression. He attended Dreher High School, in Columbia, where he studied with Sue Floyd. He went on to attend the University of South Carolina. In 1987 he was awarded "Most Outstanding Undergraduate" by the Art School.

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Wells is best known as a plein-air artist. (Plein-air is a term used for paintings or drawings made directly from nature, entirely on location. The term came into vogue with the Impressionists and the Barbizon School.)

Wells captures the native beauty of South Carolina's Lowcountry with realistic stylized paintings. He does not use the aid of photography or any electronics to hold the scene he is painting. He relies entirely upon direct observation. Wells feels that his paintings are a record of his life and travels. They document where he has been and the wonders he has seen. Through his travels in art, Wells has studied with or been influenced by Ed Yaghjian, Roy Drasites, Phillip Mullen, Sidney Guberman, and Blue Sky. 

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Painting on location, plein air, is like going on a grand safari. First you must hunt a good vista, and then you have to wait for that always elusive best-light. It is never present very long. Most of the time, I camp where I am painting. The paintings are a record of my life; where I have been, what I was doing. The paintings are worked on location without the aid of photography or other devices. I have never seen a painting as beautiful as the places I have been. I am trying to make that painting.