Email: wells_emily@yahoo.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wells.emily/
Snapchat: emilywells55
Emily Wells is in her final year as a Fine Arts major in the Honours Arts and Business program at the University of Waterloo. Through this program she has had the opportunity to explore, expand, and pursue her passion as a creative individual. This has also allowed her to experience numerous opportunities and extracurriculars such as helping her mom run a pizza shop and playing in a soccer league. Her passions include: watching movies, hanging out with friends, exploring new restaurants, and playing soccer. Her kind heart, determination, and willingness to help is evident throughout the work she creates. Currently, her life is split between living in Hamilton and Waterloo, Ontario, giving her plenty of space to create new pieces.
Artist Statement
Just like almost everyone else in the world, COVID has had a big impact on my life. Struggling with my mental health and being isolated had me stuck when trying to create new pieces and thinking outside the box. Because I was at home stuck in my room, I wasn’t able to get inspiration for new pieces. I decided to buy a paint by number package online so that I would still be painting and hopefully give me a nudge or inspiration on what to create next. Little did I know that it would actually work, and I would be able to create my own version of a paint by number.
These paintings are a more simplified way of doing a paint by number. They focus on the simplistic beauty a view can have but with a big story behind it as well. Instead of connecting a number with a colour of paint, I decided to make legends of what I was feeling in the moments of taking these pictures, but also what I am feeling now after looking at the pictures again. These two paintings reminded me that there is inspiration all around us and that I just need to keep my mind open.
"Abstracted Memories series: Waterloo". 2021, acrylic on canvas, 16” x 12”
"Abstracted Memories series: Waterloo" (detail of text). 2021, acrylic on canvas, 16” x 12”
"Abstracted Memories series: Hamilton". 2020, acrylic on canvas, 8” x 10”
"Abstracted Memories series: Hamilton" (detail of text). 2020, acrylic on canvas, 8” x 10”
Interview
What does your work aim to say?
My work is related to dealing with mental illness and being able to simplify pieces by still making them beautiful. I have been mentally and creatively stuck because of COVID and being stuck at home so I ordered paint by numbers online and found how they calmed me and got my creative mojo again. I also realized how simple the ones I bought were and I could still tell what was going on in the painting without any of the super detailed parts. My work shows how we can simplify a scene or a memory and still be able to see the big picture. I want people to be able to relate to my artwork and have an emotional connection to the scene they are experiencing.
What is your usual artmaking process like? What are your preferred mediums?
My process starts with what is happening in my life. The way I’m feeling or the things that are affecting my everyday life. Like said above, my mental health has been a big part of my life right now because I haven’t been in the greatest mindset. So, a couple of my recent pieces have been relying on keeping the mind calm and not overthinking things. Last year I had two of my dogs pass away so they had a huge influence on my process because I was always thinking of them and what I can do to commemorate them. My go to medium is oil painting because it lets me show emotion in my paintings and show a lot of the texture that I want presented in my piece. I have been working with acrylic a lot lately because it is a bit more cost efficient being a student.
What are your plans for the future? How do you see your work evolving?
My future work is going to wrap around back to my first paintings. I want to continue and pursue more animal and landscape paintings. These turned out to be my favourite paintings and I enjoyed doing them because I love getting the little details to capture what makes that animal what it is. I think being a student has held me back from doing oil paintings because of how expensive and toxic the paint can be. Once I start a career and have the funding for oil paints it will definitely evolve my work into more of a collection because I will most likely stay with oil paint and create as many paintings in that medium as I feel.