Art By Rod Wells

Romantic Realism the Art by Roderick A. Wells.

Rod’s work just makes you feel good when you look at it allowing the viewer to feel warm and peaceful. His idea was to make people feel happy and his gentleness, generosity and his love for Vermont is evident in all of his work.

I set up a gallery so you can admire and purchase his prints. You can choose different sizes on gallery grade paper.

Below is also the documentary I produced for my Dad.

Click painting to view gallery.

About

Roderick Alexander Wells was born in Montclair, New Jersey, on Feb. 11, 1931, the son of Harold Colby Wells of Lyndonville and West Danville, and Edith (Aldrich) Alexander Wells of Glover, and died on May 26, 2019.

He attended Montclair Grade and High Schools in New Jersey, and the Art Students League in New York City, having won first place there in a national art competition. After four years in the United States Navy, he studied at Columbia University earning a BFA and MA, furthering his art education at the Pratt Graphics Center.

He taught art for four years in New Jersey and for 22 years was Art Teacher/Chairperson in the Locust Valley High School on Long Island. During most of those years on Long Island, Rod also worked as an artist/illustrator in New York City creating illustrations for several agencies. His illustrations appeared in books and nine magazines, including House Beautiful, Gourmet Magazine and The New Yorker. His drawings and paintings appeared in many group and solo shows and won several first-place awards. One of his exhibits was selected for funding by the New York State Council of the Arts. In 1988, Catamount Arts of St. Johnsbury sponsored a Retrospective Show of eighty of his works from age ten to the present. His paintings were exhibited in several museums, are in many galleries as well as on permanent exhibit at the Vermont Land Trust, and were featured in the New York Times. Most of them are now in private collections. One of his greatest joys was co-exhibiting at Catamount Arts with his son: Rod’s paintings and Christopher’s photographs.

Although born in New Jersey, Rod always considered himself a Vermonter. As a matter of fact, his was the seventh generation of the Wells family to have lived in Danville, Vt., a town that his fifth great-grandfather, Paul Wells, helped to found. As he summered in the Northeast Kingdom from early childhood, the Vermont landscape became the favorite subject of his paintings, even as a preteen. This love affair with the Vermont landscape had but deepened over the years.

Retiring from teaching in 1986, he and his wife, Terry, moved to Danville, and opened The Roderick Wells Art Gallery there, the fulfillment of his life-long dream. Although the gallery was closed when they moved to St. Johnsbury in 1995, Rod continued to paint and have exhibits.

Rod also enjoyed reading, gardening, building projects, walking and traveling. He was a parishioner of St. John the Evangelist Church, member of the Fairbanks Museum, St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, Catamount Acts, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Knights of Pythias, Damon Lodge #16 in Danville. Above all, he was a kindly and dependable gentleman, a devoted husband, son, father, brother and patriot.

His art has been described as romantic realism and many of you have been brought here by the documentary “Romantic Realism the art by Roderick A. Wells” which was recently remastered.