Thirty Years Behind the Lens
A Masters in Documentary Film and Television Production from Stanford, then a career producing and directing for the U.S. Geological Survey. The instinct for composition — and for knowing when a piece is finished — came from the edit bay long before it reached the canvas.
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Stephen Wessells original paintings
Stephen M. Wessells
“I embrace art as a journey. Standing before a canvas with a palette knife, I let a thrilling mix of instinct, impulse, and experience take over. Painting on large canvases gives me the freedom to explore and create powerful art. Ultimately, my work is completely open to interpretation—finding fuel for my next canvas in the reactions of others.”
Using acrylic and oil paint on canvas, this journey unfolds as internal and external forces whip me into what sometimes feels like a painting frenzy.
Original Paintings
More from the studio
Stephen M.
Wessells
Stephen Wessells was born and raised on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California. His deceased beloved mother was a registered nurse and his father is a biology professor. Along with two brothers close in age, his youth was spent immersed in nature and busy with family obsessions, such as sports and creating all variety of things including art. Mr. Wessells has a bachelor's degree in Earth Science from University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters in Documentary Film and Television Production from Stanford University.
Stephen currently lives in Las Vegas and is a self-taught abstract painter who began formal art training with Brazilian artist Julinya De Vince in 2018. Mr. Wessells' abstract works are inspired by famous mid-twentieth-century painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Joan Miro. His professional background as a documentary filmmaker has refined his sense of design and composition which is a valuable tool in crafting a painting. This parallel creative experience has taught Stephen to create on the fly while providing a strong sense of when a painting is complete.
Mr. Wessells uses a variety of painting methods including pouring, dripping, splashing, spraying, scraping, brushing, and spreading paint like frosting on a cake. Besides conventional brushes, he applies paint directly with his hands and uses a variety of tools including various pouring containers, palette knives, rags, and toothbrushes, among other tools. His loose, unstructured approach to painting is well suited to creating abstract art.
The Wessells' family enthusiasm for art and creating things has made Stephen's painting seem natural and a joy. His incredible wife Sara and two adult children, Alli and Jack, are helpful critics as he develops new paintings. They have been Stephen's vital captive audience nudging him along on his journey as an artist.
Art should be something like a good armchair in which to rest from physical fatigue.
Thirty Years
Behind the Lens
Before the canvas, there was the camera. Stephen M. Wessells earned his Masters in Documentary Film and Television Production at Stanford and spent his career producing and directing films for the U.S. Geological Survey. The reel below is the short version.
Selected films for the U.S. Geological Survey
Graded with the camera's built-in filters rather than glass on the front — dialled in on the day, in the field.
A longtime editing partner who lives in the timeline. Stephen shoots and directs; Hayden makes it sing.
Documentary Film and Television Production, on top of a B.S. in Earth Science from UC Santa Cruz.
On location
Three decades in the fieldLet's talk
about the work
There is no checkout here, by design. Every painting is priced and sold in conversation — tell Stephen which piece caught your eye and he'll take it from there. Film and video projects start the same way: with a phone call.
Your message is on its way. Stephen answers every inquiry himself — expect a call or a note within a day or two.
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Unless otherwise stated, Stephen Wessells and/or his licensors own the intellectual property rights for all material on WessellsArt.com.
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