In 1935 he joined the Stevens/Hall/Biondi art studio in Chicago and his association there with Haddon Sundblom was to prove crucial to his artistic development. Self taught, by 1940 he had opened his own studio.

Buell was among the artists who contributed to Esquire's Gallery of Glamour commencing in 1946. He provided illustrations for many of America's mainstream magazines and was active in the advertising field, most notably for Coca-Cola in the 1940s and 1950s.

He ended his commercial career around 1965 and went on to paint fine-art subjects including landscapes and portrait commissions. He remained active until 1993 when he was injured in an accident.