Justin Wells: Artist of the Horse

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Justin Wells has always liked to draw horses.  As children growing up in central Oklahoma, Justin and his brother, Jack, would hold their own art contests.  The two children would continue to hone their skills until they became well known artists in the Cowboy and Western Art world.  Justin eventually moved to South Texas and then to the Panhandle of Texas where he enjoyed being a part of the old cowboy way of life.

The cowboy way of life was not new to Justin.  His father bred foundation Quarter Horses in Oklahoma and between family and neighbors; Justin had plenty of colts to ride.  Justin broke colts through high school and college, using the knowledge he would gain from the horses in his art.  Justin has now lived in the Panhandle for most of his adult life. Justin and his wife opened an art gallery over twenty years ago in Amarillo and Justin continues to live there now. “I moved here because it’s big ranch country,” says Justin, “There are ranches that still run a wagon, rope horses out of a remuda, and drag calves to the fire like they did a hundred years ago.  It’s also the country of Billy the Kid, Charlie Siringo, Quanah Parker and Charles Goodnight.  You can still go to some of the places they went and see what they saw.  Nothing much has changed here.” “I have always loved this shortgrass, flat top, mesa country.  You can see into the middle of next week,” says Wells.

The paintings, both new and old, adorn the walls of the studio.  The lack of space on the walls has landed many paintings a home leaning up against other paintings on the floor-all waiting to find their homes.  To sift through the piles is to go back to the old West.  You will find longhorns and Indians as well as cowboys taking a break on the range.  Justin especially enjoys the remudas, herds of broodmares running across the range can be found in many of his paintings.  Many of the painting are twenty years old and Justin has still not put his stamp of approval on them.  He often goes back and makes touch ups to paintings he started in the seventies or eighties.

Justin knows horses.  He has always had plenty of horses to draw and paint.  “I love the way the look, standing still or moving.  Horses are works of art in themselves.  For centuries, people have selectively bred them for size, conformation, or color- however the breeder chooses. Horses are each and every one a genetic sculpture.”  Despite no longer owning horses of his own, Justin still keeps in touch with his cowboy ways.  He has breakfast every morning at the Stockyards Café where cowboys and horse traders hang out and chat. 

In 1979, Justin served as the president of the Texas Cowboy Artists’ Association.  His paintings, drawings and sculptures were shown in their annual shows and Wells received numerous awards for his work.  To celebrate the sesquicentennial of Texas, the TCA developed a large art book called The Texas Cowboy.  The book  was published by the Texas Christian University Press.  Wells enjoyed the book illustration experience and has since illustrated numerous books from storybooks to cookbooks.  Wells’ illustrations can also be found in Cowboy Magazine. 

 Justin also believes in giving back to the community.  The day after he retired from the post office, he began volunteering for Meals on Wheels.  He delivers meals to the homebound elderly every week.  “There’s a law in life – you give something back the minute you are able and you are always able. My daddy always said, ‘There’s others.’ The people served by Meals on Wheels are the ones who need help and need it today,” Wells said in an interview with the Amarillo Globe-News.  Justin was the September 20, 2002 Volunteer of the Day in the Amarillo Globe-News.   Wells’ work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the South and has been featured in many magazines including The Westerner and Western Horseman.  Wells was also a part of an effort to beautify Amarillo sponsored by the American Quarter Horse Association and Center City.  Wells’ was involved in the painting of numerous horses throughout the city, which were bought by local businesses.   Wells can be found hard at work in his studio in Amarillo, Texas at 2712 E. 3^rd.  He can also be found online at http://www.justinwellscowboyart.com. 

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