WHEELING – One thing artist and former football player Vondel Bell learned is that sometimes you just have to shift and take a different path when things don’t go your way.

“A time in my life when I learned a lesson was when I got cut from the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts, and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL (Canadian Football League),” he said. ” It taught me how to pivot and figure out things when they get tough.

“I was down and feeling bad. I didn’t know where to turn for work, and I knew that I didn’t want to work somewhere and be unhappy. So I saw a void that needed to be filled in the valley and went after it.”

A talented artist since childhood, the artwork of Bell, 29, now adorns the walls of such places as Bridge Street Middle School – where he painted a series of murals of famous icons intended to inspire today’s youths.

His mother, Dawn Hanna, said recently when Bell was a child he would draw on the wall – and get in trouble for it.

“By the time he was in high school, we were requesting it,” she said.

Bell has moved on to add the roles of graphic designer and clothing designer to his resume, and he has started his own fashion VISIONARY.

“A typical work day for me is waking up pretty early and getting orders for paintings, clothing or graphic designs knocked out,” he said. “I usually always have a line and work coming in that fills my time up.”

His motto is: “Don’t give up when things get tough” because things are going to get tough and “you have to have that fight in you to push forward.”

“There are going to be times as an artist you produce things no one wants, and you have to figure out how to keep going,” Bell said. “You have to understand that the difference between the people who make their dreams a reality and the ones who don’t is the ones who made it simply just didn’t give in.

“Everyone’s journey is different and everyone’s timing isn’t the same. Stick to the script long enough to make something happen.”

Bell calls the Ohio Valley home. He has a girlfriend, Dakota, and two children – Carter, 9, and Delvon, 2.

“I was born and raised here,” he said. “My kids are here, and all my family and friends are also. I enjoy working here in the valley because of the support. and there’s so much unused space that is just waiting for someone to paint it!”

The bright spots in the Ohio Valley are its people, according to Bell.

“Residents are willing to support small businesses, and it’s beyond appreciated,” he said. “Everyone is friendly and very helpful when need be. When I have my shows or a new clothing design dropping for the clothing line, I usually sell most of it. The support here is truly amazing.

“My advice for a young person entering the workforce would be to be consistent and always respect the customer’s needs. Without the customers entrepreneurs are just people with ideas. We need the customers for us to thrive, so always be respectful and attentive to what the customer wants/needs.”

Bell sees art as a major growth area happening in Wheeling.

“I want to see the youth stick with art, so that we don’t lose our future creative minds,” he said. “If you truly think about it, everything we use in our daily life had to once be sketched out and turned into a 3-D model before it was in production – things like the building you walk into for work, the house you live in, the car you drive, down to the toothbrush you use in the morning. Everything had to be once an idea, and that creative idea is something we will always need for our future.”