Rooted in art: A new generation of Jake Wells establishes himself in local art world

Jake Wells sat back in a chair inside the Fountain Street Gallery, glancing at several paintings and ceramics he created. He was wearing a brown Missouri Speleological Survey T-shirt, which is appropriate only considering more than half of the paintings he is glancing at are inspired by caves and cave formations.

The caves are "kind of like a form of sculpture in itself," Wells said. "Water carves the channels and minerals create formations."

Wells isn't the only member of his family to have artistic interests in natural features. Wells shares his name with his grandfather, who has been a locally renowned artist for decades.

Tonight, the younger Wells' work will begin showing at the Gallery and will show for a month. Just a few blocks northwest, his grandfather's work is showing at Southeast Missouri Regional Museum -- an exhibit primarily consisting of watercolor studies of Missouri mills.

Wells' grandfather died in 1999, but his influence on the later generation of Wellses is easily apparent when the 25-year-old talks about his childhood.

"I've always grown up seeing his landscapes," Wells said. "In my own artistic life, I think I always had those landscapes in my subconscious."

When Wells was just beginning to tackle art in high school, he said he felt a lot of pressure. When you share your name and craft with a famous person, it can be a tough road.

"All the students were like, 'Oh, he must think he's so good," Wells said.

Wells is thankful none of that pre-college pressure came from his parents, Bert and Margaret, who supported him in his art academics. He said he thought his parents' openness toward his art major was a little strange.

"Some kids come home and tell their parents one day that they're going to be an art major at college and they'll be like, 'Oh my God,'" Wells said. "My parents actually encouraged me in that."

Bert Wells said two things lead to that support: his father's successes in art and his belief that parents should support their children despite their interests.

"When you grow up around this, its hard not to take an interest in it," Bert said.

In some ways, Wells has taken his grandfather's work, especially nature paintings, and modernized it. Wells said he couldn't see himself doing the same things as his grandfather because it does not incorporate his personality.

"The abstract part I feel is me coming through, instead of representation, where you're just repeating what you see," Wells said. "When you abstract it, you personalize it more."

Katherine Ellinger-Smith, assistant professor of art at Southeast Missouri State University, taught Wells when he was in her advanced drawing class. Ellinger-Smith said she saw Wells struggle with what he wanted to do with his art, but he found himself when he "latched on to his love for the area."

"He was struggling with his grandfather's work," Ellinger-Smith said. "He's taken it to a more contemporary level. I expect great things from him."

Wells embraces the connection he has to his grandfather and wouldn't even mind surpassing his grandfather's fame.

"I'd really like to be as well-known and respected as him and I'd like to expand my sphere of influence," Wells said. "I doubt I'll spend my career in Cape Girardeau. I'd like to expand and maybe be represented in galleries in New York or Chicago. He never did anything like that."

About a month ago, Wells was accepted to attend Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and has been given the privilege to study there tuition-free. He will start earning his Master of Fine Arts degree there in August.

Ronald Clayton, professor of art, worked with the young Wells for every year he was at SEMO and considers him to be one of the finest students he has taught.

"I think he got everything he could get out of us," Clayton said. "When I had him at the beginning painting class, he had a lot of determination. And even at the end, Jake pulled out all the stops."

sludwig@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 211

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Want to go?

What: Jake Wells art exhibit

* When: Starts tonight at 6 p.m.

* Where: Fountain Street Gallery, 34 N. Fountain St.

* Info: 275-3194

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First Friday activities

Someone's Treasure Clubhouse, 411 Broadway

The Community Counseling Center will sponsor a First Friday reception with art by Sherry Wilhelm at Someone's Treasure Clubhouse from 6 to 8 p.m.

Wilhelm's art includes paintings in a variety of media. For more information, call 339-0200.

Jars of Clay Pottery/Fusion Glassworks Studio, 823 Broadway

Pam Duncan of the Jars of Clay Pottery Studio and Michael Guard of the Fusion Glassworks Studio will demonstrate pottery throwing and glass bead making from 5 to 9 p.m.

For more information, call Duncan at 334-8408.

Edward Bernard Gallery, 107 West Drive

Cape Girardeau's glass art gallery will have an opening reception from 5 to 9 p.m. with new ceramic work by Allen Littlefield, new art glass by Beth Fishman and new jewelry pieces by Kelly Shatto. Musicians Nick Mayberry and Tim DePriest will perform the entire evening.

For more information, call 332-7733.

Garden Gallery, 835 Broadway

Garden Gallery will hold a First Friday reception from 6 to 9 p.m. featuring handmade purses by the Maine-based artisan group Erda. For more information, call 332-7123. Garden Gallery is also the rain site for the Tunes at Twilight concert series.

The Artist Studio, 38A N. Main St.

The Artist Studio will present work by studio owner Judy Barks-Westrich from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and will take sign-ups for summer workshops, including a papermaking workshop that begins next week. For more information, call 651-4464.

Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, 32 N. Main St.

The arts council galleries will present an opening reception for the "Portraits of Cape Girardeau: Then and Now" exhibit by Tom Neumeyer. Entries from the arts council's Bicentennial Photography Competition will also be on display, along with work from the Visual Arts Cooperative. For more information, call 334-9233.

Gallery 1.2.5, 125 N. Main St.

Gallery 1.2.5 will hold an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. featuring a shipment of 400 new original paintings. For more information, call 335-2699.