In 2005, Terri turned to creating art fulltime and paints outdoors on location throughout the U.S.  Some of these plein air paintings are preliminaries she further develops into abstract sculptures and studio work.  Her leadership revitalized Plein Air Austin and gained it nonprofit status during her tenure as president and chairman of the board from 2005 to 2008.  In 2011, she received a residency from the Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts in Utah and a yearlong assignment for the Cibolo Nature Center on private hill country conservation land, where she painted the four seasons for the Cibolo biennial. In 2018, she received a two week residency from the Brinton Museum in Big Horn, WY. She has an eye for nuanced, vibrant color, and memorable compositions.

Terri grew up in two worlds.  Her appreciation for nature was heightened by frequent hikes through the fields, woods, meadows, and creek sides surrounding her parents' farm near Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  Her appreciation for the arts and city life was fostered by trips to the Art Institute of Chicago and the vast collection of public art on display throughout the city.  Terri finished her BFA in Studio Art at Kent State University after two years at Iowa State University’s Design School.  Morton Grossman, educated at the Art Students League, helped to provide her classical art education.  She participated in the Blossom Festival School of Art summer long program, where artists Janet Fish and Dale Chihuly influenced her most.  Terri is an award-winning artist who has attended workshops with some of the top artists in the U.S. 

Known primarily for her plein air watercolors, Terri has additionally returned to creating studio oils and abstract wall reliefs directly related to her plein air work.  

Artist Statement

I spent my childhood looking at wide open skies, playing in creek beds, and enjoying the woods' surprises.  A farm girl now living in the city, I am compelled to get out where things are a bit more wild, and I can feel the forces of nature the way God created them.  On a good day, my painting is a spiritual experience of the landscape.   I hope to share nature’s light, movement, and color—deeply immersed, absorbed, contemplated—and the joy of that experience.

Education

1982 Kent State University-BFA- Studio Art-Drawing and Painting

1981 Blossom Festival School of Art, Kent, Ohio 1981

- workshops with professional artists such as Kenn Backhaus, Janet Fish, Joseph Zbukvic, Skip Whitcomb, Ray Roberts, and others.

Career Highlights

2018 Residency with The Brinton Museum

2011 Residency with Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts

2009 Award of Excellence, Nomadas del Arte

2005-08 Plein Air Austin- President and Chairman of the Board

Selected Exhibitions

2021 Contemporary Texas Landscapes, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX

2020 The Texas Aesthetic, Foltz Fine Art, Houston, TX

2019 Storied Lands, Foltz Fine Art, group show, Houston, TX

2019 The Brinton Museum, Brinton AIR, 6-person, Big Horn, WY

2019 Maynard Dixon Country, Mt. Carmel, UT

2018 Plein Air SW Salon, Dallas and Rockport, TX

2015 Maynard Dixon Camp Out, Mt. Carmel UT 2015

2015 Plein Air SW Salon, Dallas and Rockport, TX

2013 America’s Parks Through the Beauty of Art, US touring show

2013 Plein Air SW Salon, Dallas and Rockport, TX

2010 Scottsdale’s Best and Brightest, Scottsdale, AZ

2010 Plein Air Austin at the Forsyth Museum, Bryan, TX

2010 Plein Air Austin, University of TX, Austin, TX

2008 EAST, Solo show, Austin, TX

Selected Public Collections

The Brinton Museum, Big Horn, WY

Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts, Mt. Carmel, UT

Terri Wells

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