Jan ter Weele was born in Groningen, The Netherlands on March 22, 1935. He died in Portland, Maine on November 21, 2022. He studied at Maine College of Art, Massachusetts College of Art, Honolulu Academy of Arts, and the Art Students League of New York with John Hultberg, Peter Golfinopoulos, and Cornelia Foss. His paintings are in collections throughout the U.S. and in Japan, London, and Belgium.