Theodore Waddell : Life & Work

Theodore Waddell Life & Work A 2020 presentation

Big Sky Angus, 2018, Oil on Canvas, 120 x 240�

Ted out for a ride in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana

Theodore Waddell was Born October 6, 1941, in the south-central Montana metropolis of Billings. He was raised in the nearby railroading town of Laurel, where he grew up in a working-class household helping with the chickens, climbing apple trees, fishing with his father and playing Cowboys and Indians with friends.

“In the winter, my Dad did paint by numbers, and I still have one of those paintings.

He had some friends who were Sunday painters. He would take me to their houses to see what they were doing. He must have seen that I was interested. . . .� ~ Theodore Waddell

When he was ten, Theodore first encountered the works of a well-known artist of the West, one who happened to have made the Billings area his home. Waddell and a schoolmate found drawings by Will James in the Parmly Billings Library, in books like Smoky the Cow Horse and Cowboy in the Making, and they did their best to copy James’ illustrations of bucking broncos and battling wild stallions. “That was my first exposure to making art,” says Waddell.

Theodore Waddell 2020 Cheatgrass Sketch #11

Ted painting in the front yard with sister, Jackie 1960

As a young man, Ted learned to play the Trumpet. Here he is dressed and ready to play at a local dance.

“I was drafted into the Army in 1963. After basic training, I was placed in band training at Fort Ord. We practiced music all day and after 8 weeks in that band, I was assigned to the Fourth Army Band at Fort Sam Houston,Texas� ~ Theodore Waddell

While teaching At the University of Montana, Theodore Waddell continued to develop the approach to steel sculpture he had begun to explore at in college at Wayne State, especially under the influence of Donald Judd. He recalls, “I made lots of sculpture during those years, with commissions here and there around the state. I have no idea where most of my work went, about 200 pieces over a 20-year period.�

Untitled, 1974, Brushed stainless steel, 24’ x 6’, Montana State University, Billings , MT

Untitled, 1975, Brushed stainless steel, 23 x 16 x 24�

Two Part Piece, 1970, Stainless Steel, Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, N.Y.

Teeter Totter, 1974, Stainless steel

Playground Slide, 1975, Brushed Stainless steel, 3 x 12 x 12 ‘

In the mid 1060’s Waddell worked for a short while in an automobile parts house, sorting parts.

He explains, “when I was charged with taking the obsolete parts to the dump . . . bumpers and gears, and what not . . .

I took them home and ended up welding sculpture out of them,”

Untitled (Used Engine Parts Collage) c.1966

PAINTINGS …

DRAWINGS …

PRINTS ...

“I received a scholarship to study at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in 1962, thanks to the assistance of one of my early mentors, Isabelle Johnson. I spent a year in New York. It was a marvelous experience where I was influenced by the abstract expressionists. That influence still guides my work.” ~ Theodore Waddell

Motherwell’s Angus #22, 2011, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 32 x 36”

Self Portrait, New York, 1962, Oil on Canvas, 11 x 13�

P. 25, 1962, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 30

P.5, 1966, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 36

Chinese Girl, 1966, Painting on Cardboard, 30 x 21

Theodore Waddell was a working rancher for more than twenty years. His past and ongoing engagement with animals and the land is central to his art. Often, his paintings, drawings and prints take their titles from his chosen landscapes and the animals who inhabit those spaces.

Ruby Mountain Buffalo #4, 2010, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas 72 x 72�

Angus 078, 1984, Oil on Canvas, 48 x 60

Yadon’s Paints, 2003, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 36 x 48”

Longhorn #13, 1983, Oil on Canvas, 36 x 48�

Collection of Holter Museum of Art

Alzada Angus, 1992, Oil, Encaustic and Canvas, 72 x 144 Collection of Yellowstone Art Museum

Snake River Paints, 1993, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 78 x 90 Collection of Amarillo Art Museum

Zebra #10, 1988, Oil on Canvas, 20 x 24

In the 1980’s Ted was commissioned to paint in Africa. The resulting series features paintings of Zebra, Elephants, Primates, Hyena and Hippos.

Botswana Baboons, 1992, Oil on Canvas, 72 x72 Collection of the Yellowstone Art Museum

Yosemite #14, 2007, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 72 x 66

Yosemite Falls #4, 2007,Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 38 x 78

Argenta Paints #15, 2016, 48 x 54

Horse #13, 1985, Oil on Canvas, 72 x 90 Collection of the Phoenix Art Museum

Red Rock Buffalo #2, 2008, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 32 x 36

January Angus, 1991, Oil on Canvas, 42 x42

Monida Angus #22, 2015, Oil on Canvas, 24x36�

Red Rock Buffalo #8, 2011, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 30 x 32�

Winter Angus #10, 2019, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 24 x 30�

Angus Dr. 098, 1984, Oil on Paper, 20 x 26

Angus Dr. 117, 1982, Oil on Paper, 20 x 26

White Cloud Sheep Drawing #1, 1997, Oil, Encaustic, Graphite on paper, 30 x 36�

Woody, 1998, 15 x 18, Lithograph

San Francisco Angus, 1996, 19 x 19, Etching

A peek inside Ted’s Studio in Hailey, Idaho

Ted working on Monida Angus #15, 2012, 90” x 312”

Monida Angus #15, 90� x 312� - in progress

Monida Angus #15, 2012, 90” x 312”

“I have had dogs all of my life—bassets, blue heelers, blood hound, and even a dalmatian. My wife, Lynn, has always had Bernese Mountain dogs. When we were married, I fell in love with these amazing, wonderful creatures. They are incredibly gentle dogs. All they want to do is to be where you are and sit on your foot. As I went back and forth from the house to the studio, they would come with me, so I always say that I travel with an entourage—the dogs. ” ~ Theodore Waddell

Ted in his Hailey, ID studio with his assistants.

Ted’s wife Lynn Campion is a photographer, author and dedicated philanthropist.

Since 1994, Campion’s family foundation, the Deer Creek Fund, has supported several good causes in the Wood River Valley of Idaho - and beyond.

Lynn Campion- Waddell was chosen to be Grand Marshall for the 2019 4th of July Parade in Hailey, ID. Ted and pup MacDuff joined her for the ride!

BOOKS …

Theodore Waddell, Cheatgrass Dreams Drawing

Tucker Gets Tuckered was published in 2008.

It was the first of what is now a series of three illustrated books featuring the Waddell’s Bernese Mountain Dogs.

Tucker Tees Off 2015

Tucker’s Seasonal Words Of Wisdom 2014

Sampling of Book Illustrations Berner Drawings 20 x 26� , Oil, Encaustic & Graphite on Paper

Dedicated to the great state of Montana She means so much to us.

And to my Dad. I think he would have been proud.

Theodore Waddell

By Rick Newby Published by Drumlummon Institute, Helena, MT 2016

In 2018, Waddell published an illustrated book about his years as a child in Laurel, MT.

Memories of Childhood Illustrations and Stories by Theodore Waddell

Before cell phones and video games, growing up in the west required exploration fueled by imagination. Nature played a major role as a fertile playground and a stern teacher. These humble stories written by Theodore Waddell relate lessons learned in the joys and heartaches of growing up in a rural environment.

The West has a storytelling history, and everyone has a story. This is artist Theodore Waddell’s—an illustrated mosey through the landscape, livestock, and colorful characters that made up his life as a cattleman in a remote part of Central Montana.

The essays that compose this memoir have much in common with his art. They are frank, evocative sketches that deftly combine the abstract and the literal to effectively communicate the persistent struggle and beauty of ranch life.

Cheatgrass Dreams Written and Illustrated By Theodore Waddell, 2020

In 2015, Theodore Waddell was a recipient of the Montana Governor’s Arts Award. The award honors outstanding citizens and organizations in Montana whose achievements in the arts, or on behalf of the arts, benefit all Montanans.

Also in 2015, He was chosen as Artist of the Year by the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, MT.

Ruby Valley Angus, 2009, Oil, Encaustic on Canvas, 120 x 218�

"It seems right to try to go from what I know to what I don't know. I prefer work that is open-ended and doesn't attempt to lead me in a certain way and determine all of the conclusions. I want my work to constantly change for me and for those who view it.� ~ Theodore Waddell