Sylvester Wells (1938 - )
Born: Jacksonville, Florida
As a child Sylvester liked to draw. Although no one in his family was artistic, he spent his time drawing, beginning at the age of six. God gave him the gift, he explains, and it was his job to cultivate it. On his own, he developed skills in portraiture and sign painting.
After finishing high school in Jacksonville, he joined the army and was stationed in France. Once his service was completed, he returned to Jacksonville and ended up in Cocoa Beach, Florida.
One day when he was 25, he was walking on the main street in Cocoa and met Alfred Hair. Alfred was carrying a stack of landscape paintings into a bank to sell. Sylvester admired the artwork and struck up a conversation with the artist. Sylvester asked Alfred if painting was the only thing he did for a living. Alfred replied affirmatively and added, “That’s why I’m driving a pink Cadillac.” (The car was parked on the street.) As Sylvester studied the paintings, it came to him that painting landscapes would be his job. Sylvester was already painting portraits and signs for a long time. Now he would learn to paint landscapes.
Sylvester went home and told his wife Consuelo, “I’m going to paint for a living.” She looked at him strangely. This revelation didn’t make sense to her, but she trusted her husband and wanted to support him.
He knew he needed to find someone to teach him. He had heard that there was an artist named Harold Newton painting landscapes in Cocoa. So he “put out the word” that he wanted to talk to him. They finally met and Harold told him he could watch him paint.
He knew he needed to find someone to teach him. He had heard that there was an artist named Harold Newton painting landscapes in Cocoa. So he “put out the word” that he wanted to talk to him. They finally met and Harold told him he could watch him paint.
His best critics were his customers. They would offer helpful suggestions, which Sylvester took to heart. They made him a better painter. He also learned from his good friend Robert Lewis, another painter who lived in Cocoa.
Like the other Highwaymen, he took his paintings on the road, selling up and down the highways on the east coast of Florida. He painted and sold his works on the roadways for forty years.
Painting isn’t the most important part of his life; preaching the gospel is his primary mission. He didn’t study in a Bible school until he was 72. He mostly learned by listening and reading the Bible. Although he doesn’t have a church, he is a Seventh Day Adventist. But, he explains, it doesn’t really matter what religion you are; what’s most important is how you live your life.
Wells no longer paints, as he is blind from glaucoma. He now lives with his sister in Alabama. He never saw Alfred Hair again after that first meeting at the bank in Cocoa. and, he says, he has never been to Fort Pierce.
Trusting in God’s message that he had a talent that should be developed, he made his living through art.
Sylvester Wells Biography information: obtained from website thehighwaymentrail.com. This website is a fantastic reference to learn about the 26 Florida Highwaymen artists and their importance to Florida's history.