CJ Wells Hawiik State I Lavender SN lithograph native

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"Hawiik State I (Lavender)"

Hand Signed by C.J. Wells

C.J. WELLS

C.J. Wells uses strong colors and bold compositions in her paintings to reveal her personal vision of the American Indian of a people torn between the past and the present.  She states, "It's very difficult to paint without a model, but many of these people come right out of my head."

Working out of a studio that is fragrant with turpentine and linseed oil -- "my favorite smells," she says and that vibrates with the music of Vivaldi, Beethoven, and Mozart, Wells produces dramatic oil paintings, lithographs, and monotypes that not only focus on Indian themes, but on landscapes and portraits as well.  A strong colorist, she uses her palette in an expressive and symbolic sense, rather than in a representational manner.  "I call myself a 'motivist,' "Wells explains, "because my moods and motives are the real key to understanding my art.  When I'm in a dark mood or a spiritual mood, I paint my warriors in a dark environment.  Sometimes my paintings come from a sense of outrage at injustice, or a sense of beauty, or some other strong feeling." 

Wells is perhaps best-known for her Warrior Series paintings that are so magnetic they have been known to move viewers to tears.   She describes the figures in those paintings as visions, the synthesis of many warriors from many times: "These figures manifest themselves so strongly from the mists of time, that I am not aware of anything but the act of painting, and the revelation of the warrior spirit. C.J. Wells, at that point, is nonexistent."

The prototypes for the Warrior Series began with paintings of Navajos, when Wells was working in Los Angeles, and took a decade to evolve into what they are today.  "After the Navajos," she recalls, "I changed to Plains Indians because they were more intriguing to me.  I felt like they were coming straight from my soul. I was also trying to convey something very internal that I couldn't articulate."  Yet Wells tired of the work she was doing and prayed for help -- help to paint something beautiful.  "That's when I started with the yellow eyes and added the white dots," she recounts. "Then background and skin tones became more translucent."

Wells was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and studied art at UCLA and at Eastern College in Billings, Montana.  Before turning her energies solely to her art, she explored other avenues -- working with an architectural firm, writing songs and singing -- but during each of those experiences, Wells continued to paint in her spare time.  Today Wells has made art her profession, exhibiting her works throughout the country and earning many awards, including first prize in the Santa Monica American Indian Art Show and Exhibit, and special distinction at the Native American Center for the Living Arts in New York.  Her works are in numerous private and public collections, such as the Institute of American Indian Art Museum in Santa Fe.

"I paint for forever, not just for today," declares Wells.  "I want to be a great artist.  I want people to be proud to say, 'I have a C.J. Wells in my collection,' I want to do more landscapes, more children, horses, cowboys -- I want to do everything.  I want to die, preferably at an old age, with a brush in my hand.  There's nothing more thrilling to me than to have a clean white canvas in front of me and to fill it with something beautiful."