He sees it. He draws it. He paints it.
That is the way it has been for 27-year-old Vondel Bell since he was a child growing up in Wheeling.
Even though he was an OVAC All-Star for Wheeling Park High School’s (Class of 2012) Patriot football team, and a four-year member of the squad at California University of Pennsylvania, Bell continued creating. During those days, however, his work usually was given to friends, but now, it is all about the clients he collects.
“I have been painting my entire life, and I really enjoy painting people,” Bell said. “I am a people person, and painting people can be difficult, but I feel I am up to those challenges. There’s a lot of shading and texture involved when you’re painting people, so that’s why I enjoy it so much.
“When I was in college, I took art classes, but I really knew already what they were teaching, so I just went about it the way I have always done my work,” he explained. “I’m really self-taught, and those teachers understood that. I still had to take the classes to get the credits, and that was OK because there were a lot of cool people in those classes.”
Food on Table. Roof Overhead.
A much different dream of Bell’s was playing someday in the NFL, and that is why he attended a few tryouts when given the opportunity. Although he waited for the phone to ring, Bell decided to get to work while using his mad skills.
He did portraits. Logos. He created his own clothing line. And Bell started his own business, Visionary LLC.
That was when the entrepreneur’s cell phone really started ringing. Was it Mel Blount? C.J. Goodwin? Or a local school system?
“My art is all I do to make a living, and it’s more than a dream come true. I would have never thought, me being from Wheeling, that it would be possible for me to only do my art to earn my income,” Bell said. “I don’t even know someone who just paints for a living, so I feel I am blessed. Truly blessed.
“I have had the chance to do a lot of projects for a lot of people, and when the schools reached out to me for a few pieces, I was honored because I went to those schools,” he said. “So many people have reached out to me with their ideas and their projects, so I guess that means I’m going to be busy for a while.”
The Eye Has It
It was to be seen from the deck of the Fort Henry Bridge, from the south end of Wheeling Island, and from the Kirkwood Heights area of Bridgeport, Ohio.
It is a sparkling, green eye that is a tad bloodshot, and thanks to Bell, it now spies from the top of the McLure House in downtown Wheeling. The hotel, purchased a few months ago by Roxby Development, has been the sight of a massive renovation project since the acquisition, and Bell’s artwork now is a part of the property’s transformation.
“(Roxby President) Jeffrey (Morris) and (McLure General Manager) Taylor (Smith) reached out to me because they wanted the McLure to have some exterior artwork, and they know I am a local artist,” Bell explained. “I told them I would do it, but to be honest, I do not know why they wanted the eye. It’s very close to the logo I use for my clothing line, but it doesn’t have the ‘V’ in it.
“I like it a lot, and you can see it from the bridge and other areas,” he said. “I’ve also been speaking with them about the hotel’s parking garage, and they are interested. Plus, they want something on another exterior wall, but I don’t know what they want yet. But I am really excited to be a part of what is happening at the hotel. The property is getting updated in a lot of different ways.”
Smith explained the artwork sends a message to those who see it, and it provokes curiosity, as well.
“We knew the eye is a part of Vondel’s trademark because he is a visionary,” Smith explained. “But to me, it’s the eye of creation. And it does stick out. A lot of people have asked us about it, so it is a conversation starter.
“People are very curious about what’s been happening here at the McLure House, and now the eye is a part of that,” the general manager said. “I think in the future, the art will be yet another reason why people are going to come here to the hotel so they can take a look for themselves.”
Tomorrow. Next Week. Next Year.
Now that his work at the McLure is complete, Bell expects to begin his next project by the end of the week. And then another … and another.
“I’ve been lucky like that,” he admitted. “And people seem to really like what I can do.”
The father of two boys (8-year-old Carter and 1-year-old Delvon)Bell now resides along Grandview Street in Wheeling and possesses zero plans to depart the Friendly City.
“I mean, I’ll go somewhere for work,” Bell said with a snicker. “But I’ll always come home to my family and to my community.
“I really don’t know where my art is taking me,” he admitted. “Of course, I hope it takes me somewhere big, but I just don’t know. What I do know is that my next project is for the Linsly School. They want me to do some art in one of the weight rooms, so I’m really looking forward to that. And to be honest, I’m just winging it right now, and that seems to be working so far. Hopefully, it does take me somewhere special in the future, but Wheeling will always be my home.”
