More Art from Featured Artist Michele Wells

Born in Vancouver Canada, Michele attended art school there in the 1980's but did not choose art as her career. After moving to St. Louis in 1994 she started painting watercolors, however she switched to pastels in 1999. 

Recently she has started combining the two mediums with great results. Michele likes to paint landscapes and abstracts in her studio at home, however her favorite subject matter is "plein air" landscapes.

Apple Orchard, Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

View of the Alps, Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

Reflections by Michele Wells on her trip to Southern Germany.

Pastel by Michele Wells

Gateway Gallery's next theme show was brought on by a trip to Germany for Michele Wells. She spent 10 days visiting with family in the very South of Germany. Here is her experience in her own words....

I flew into Munich on August 4 and was picked up by my Dad and Step Mother. My Dad was born in Germany and spent his childhood there. They now live in Vancouver Canada but he has many friends and family to visit.  After visiting with my Dad's cousins for a few hours we drove 2+ hours southwest to the little town of Markdorf Germany just a few miles north of the Bodensee also known as Lake Constance. My parents had arranged to swap houses and cars for a month with a family from this little town so we had a nice spacious place to stay and a way to get around. We used this as a central place to do our day tripping from.

One of my favorite drives was east into Bavaria. Our plan was to go to Fussen and take some photos of the famous Neuschwanstein castle. The drive there was one of the most beautiful with the view of the alpine valleys and the Austrian Alps. When we got to the castle we were disappointed to find the castle covered in scaffolding and huge crowds so we turned back to the old town site and spent the afternoon in Fussen. This is a beautiful old town just a mile or so from the castle.

Pastel by Michele Wells

Another day trip was through the Black Forest stopping in Titisee, a small mountain town next to a beautiful lake. Of course we had to have black forest cake for lunch. We drove on through to Frieberg and found a huge market surrounding the old Cathedral in the center of town. There were many venders selling things from flowers, produce, sausages, mushrooms, handmade brooms and brushes to items made from olive tree wood. And much much more. We took the drive south along the Rhine on the trip home.

The small towns dotting the edge of the lake were all great places to visit. One of my favorites was Meersberg. It is a very beautiful town set up on a bluff. We shopped, had lunch and toured the old castle. Another day was spent riding a ferry along the lake. It stopped at 7 or 8 towns dropping off and picking up passengers. It was like a mini cruise. We got off at Lindau and had a nice leisurely lunch and then took the next ferry back. This was about a 7 hour round trip and the weather could not have been better.

Pastel by Michele Wells

Many of our other days were spent driving the countryside and visiting the small villages and markets of the area. The landscape is full of agriculture with a wide variety of crops. We saw orchards, vineyards, corn and many grains to name a few. I was always amazed at the number of beautiful window boxes, many of them filled with Geraniums. Almost every building had them.

On the last full day we drove back to Munich to be close to the airport for my flight the next day. This also happened to be my birthday. While there we went to the famous Hoffbrau House for lunch. Unfortunately it was not our best experience in a restaurant. The food was just okay and the service was not great. But our decision to eat cake for dinner was a great one especially since it also happened to be my birthday. We found a nice little place near the hotel that had great cake and coffee. Our last evening was spent strolling through the city park known as The English Garden. We had heard to look out for the surfers and could not imagine what this meant. It turns out there is a place in the river that has some large waves and there were many young guys surfing in the middle of the park. Too funny.

Pastel by Michele Wells

It was a great visit. I took over 1000 photos and all of my paintings for this show were done in my studio from some of these photos. There are so many great subject matters it was hard to just pick a few.

Next.... I am planning a painting trip to France in Sept. 2013.

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

GATEWAY GALLERY IN CLAYTON PRESENTS “The Beauty of Southern Germany”, November 21, 2012 – January 4, 2013

Pastel by Michele Wells

Pastel by Michele Wells

Opening reception held for the artists 6-9 p.m. November 30

(Clayton, MO/August 29) Gateway Gallery “The Beauty of Southern Germany” exhibit will feature paintings, drawings and images from Michele Wells’ recent trip to Southern Germany.  Michele spent some of her days in the small towns and the countryside of Bavaria, one of the most beautiful areas of Germany.  Scenes from the Black Forest and the lakeside towns of Bodensee, known as Lake Constance, will also be featured.  Many scenes involve visits to small villages, markets and country sides with views of vineyards, grazing cattle, castles and the great Alps.  This show runs November 21 through January 4 with an opening reception from 6 to 9 pm on Friday, November 30 at 21 North Bemiston Ave, Clayton.

Michele Wells has been painting in pastels for 12 years and is a resident artist at Gateway Gallery. While Michele likes to work en plein air most of these works had been done in her studio when she returned home from her travels. She has many pastels in private collections in the US and Canada. 

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

Jim Irwin, New Guest Artist at Gateway Gallery May 23 - June 29

Lion King of Masai Mara, Photograph by Jim Irwin

The Zebra Girl, Photograph by Jim Irwin

My photography is mostly of nature and wildlife. And being a veterinarian, my interest in animal photography should be of no surprise. I see animal photography as a way of bringing more than just color or design to a wall but rather a dimension of personality as well. The animal close-ups especially demonstrate that phenomenon. The close-up view enables one to see the natural features that are usually missed in real life due to all the movement and surrounding distractions. In effect, a "personality" seems to appear. My goal is to capture this "personality" in an artistic fashion that can be displayed in a person’s home for regular enjoyment.


My interest in animal art is directed more toward wildlife rather than toward the more common domestic animals. While they usually present a challenge to photograph, I find the images to be far more fascinating. Additionally, the photography creates an environmental awareness that may even translate into improving animal welfare, especially for the African species. Through environmental abuse, habitat destruction, poaching and other human interactions the future of many of these animals is in doubt. This special photography of these species can provide a chance to enjoy their being and hopefully they will survive.

I am a juried artist for the Greater  St. Louis Art Association and the Best Of Missouri Hands.

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

More Art from Guest/Resident Artist Michele Wells

Here is a preview of more work by Guest Artist Michele Wells on exhibit at Gateway Gallery in the current show that started April 4th and runs through May 18th, 2012. Come see it at our opening reception this Friday, April 13, 2012.

Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

Gateway Gallery Resident Artist Michele Wells Exhibits as Guest Artist

Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

Pastel Painting by Michele Wells

I am primarily a pastel landscape painter. While I like to paint in my studio, one of my favorite things is to do is "Plein Air" painting. Many artists paint outdoors throughout the year however I am a fair weather painter and spring is my favorite time to paint the landscape on location.

I am gearing up for the 10th annual Augusta Plein Air Event. There are usually over 100 artists painting in and around the Augusta MO wineries and the surrounding countryside. It is a great opportunity for the public to watch and purchase art that is created in their own area. It is a ten day event ending with a show and sale at the Mount Pleasant winery. The dates this year are April 18 through April 28. Google "Augusta Plein Air 2012" for more info.
               -Michele Wells, Pastel Painter

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Blog post by Gateway Gallery Artist Daniel Fishback.

Michele Wells is Going Green!

"Since I am primarily a landscape painter "Green" is a mainstay in my pastel pallet. I also try to use colors to compliment all of the greens around us." - Michele Wells

The Potato Field

Lake Shore

Reflection

Gateway Gallery partner Michele Wells will be exhibiting in the Guest Artist Gallery during the Going Green exhibit in addition to the beautiful work she will be displaying in the main gallery. She will be at our reception this Friday July 22 from 6-9pm.

Interview with the Artist - Michele Wells

Katy Trail Splendor
I have been painting in the Augusta Missouri area for over 8 years. They have an annual 10 day plein air paint-out there every April. The Katy Trail runs right through this lovely little town and is one of my favorite subjects. The vineyards and farm fields are also great views. Much of my subject matter this month reflects many of the scenes in and around Augusta and the Katy Trail.

How long have you been an artist?

I can remember loving to draw when I was 5 or 6 and took as many art classes as I could in High School. I went to Art School at a local community college in Vancouver Canada where I grew up. However I did not take a career in the arts after college. It has been a long and winding road. I took it up as a hobby about 12 years ago after I had moved to St. Louis. I started with watercolors and soon switched to pastels in 2000 when I found the local pastel society, Gateway Pastel Artists. Pastels are my main medium today.

What kind of art do you make?

My favorite subject matter is the landscape in pastels. Recently I have been doing watercolor washes under my pastels. However I also like to play with painting abstracts and using different mediums under the pastels. Some things I have been experimenting with are tissue paper collage, gesso, pumice and matte medium mixtures.

What is your "day job" if you have one?

I have been a commercial electrician with IBEW Local #1 for almost 8 years. It is a highly technical job. When I was doing my apprenticeship I found it hard to paint because everything was so right brain. I now find that I have to work at switching my brain over to the creative side whenever I want to paint. Sketching and music are good tools for this.

What other creative outlet would you explore if you couldn't make visual art?
Before I renewed my interest in painting I was involved in competitive dancing. I started with country dancing but soon switched to swing. To be more exact my style was West Coast Swing. Dancing is a great way to express oneself. I traveled across the US and Canada and competed at many swing dance conventions. We had elaborate routines and costumes.

Dancing is where I learned that I love to teach. I have recently started to teach pastel painting and am finding it very rewarding.

Don't miss your chance to meet Michele and see her beautiful work in person this Friday, December 3rd from 6:00-9:00PM. We will have wine and appetizers from Mazara's.

Meeting of Minds 2 - D. A. Williams and Michele Wells

More progress is being made on the collaboration. This photo reflects the result of Debbie and Michele working together. They applied some tissue paper collage and plan to add some pastel later. Keep checking in as the Gateway artists pull this piece together!