Patty Rae Wellborn, an Abilene-based self-taught artist and educator, died Tuesday, November 19, 2024.
Patty Rae Wellborn
Patty Rae Wellborn was born on September 18, 1954, to parents Roosevelt Louis and Patsy La Ray Castille in Lake Charles, Louisiana. She was the oldest child and helped raise her younger siblings. Ms. Wellborn’s interest in art started at an early age. She has said her earliest memory of drawing was around the age of three and by five years old she was painting with watercolors.
As part of a military family that moved often, Ms. Wellborn attended 13 different schools throughout her youth. She graduated from Merkel High School in 1972 and two years later married Walker “Dub” Barron Wellborn, Jr. The Wellborns moved to Wyoming for a short time and then lived in Houston for several years. Later, the couple relocated to Abilene, where they started their family. While Ms. Wellborn was a stay-at-home mom, she also dedicated time to her artistic practice.
Patty Rae Wellborn
Ms. Wellborn maintained a studio space for over 30 years at the Center for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Abilene, an art space in the city’s downtown with classrooms, galleries, and studios. During her three decades at the organization, she supported the art scene in a multitude of ways. She served as Artist Member President of CCA three times and helped launch Artreach, the educational component of the organization that offers workshops and other learning experiences for the community.
Patty Rae Wellborn, “Lapdog.”
Ms. Wellborn’s paintings were often built up layers of various mediums such as cold wax and liquid impasto. She worked in abstraction and expressive realism, often playing between landscape and portraiture. Ms. Wellborn exhibited regularly throughout Texas. Her work was shown in venues such as the San Angelo Performing Arts Center, the Weiler House Fine Art Gallery in Fort Worth, the Texas Visual Arts Association Gallery in Dallas, the Brownwood Art Center, the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, Breckenridge Fine Arts Museum, and CCA. She also managed a slew of commissions, most recently she was selected to create seven large works for Abilene’s Hendrick Health Hospital.
Patty Rae Wellborn, “Far from the Crowd.”
Beyond her lasting impact on her family, which includes six siblings, her husband, five children, eight grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews, Ms. Wellborn has left a legacy of art and education across generations of Abileneans.
