John Wells

Armed with a Diploma in Fine Art from Brighton College of Art and a Masters degree, John left Reading University to endeavour to realise another ambition and that was to be an actor. He acquired a position as a property master at Nottingham Playhouse then a Acting Stage Manager with a children’s theatre company based in the same city. For the following eighteen years he pursued an acting career appearing in plays and musicals either in provincial theatres all over England or in London’s West End.

During ‘resting’ periods John painted murals and trompe l’oeil for private clients eventually advertising as a special effects and trompe artist in high profile interior design magazines.

As a result John became extremely busy completing projects ranging from canvases to large scale murals. One of the most spectacular was the centrepiece of The Wellington Tavern in Waterloo. With his reputation spreading he began to win mural commissions in themed public houses, restaurants and bars all over England. Also, private clients requiring romantic trompe l’oeil landscapes hired him, the idealised scene bringing beauty and uniqueness into their homes.

In 1997 John left England for Australia and on arrival took his portfolio to several well known Australian interior designers who were pleased to offer him contracts. Consequently, his murals feature in resort swimming pools and entrance lobbies in many apartment complexes throughout Sydney, the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Other murals of various shapes, sizes and subjects can be found in foyers and the exteriors of some of Sydney’s prestigious buildings as well as restaurants, clubs, hotels, private homes and public buildings.

In 2003 John began teaching art to adults at several community colleges on Sydney’s North Shore. He has also taught lunchtime classes to employees of Optus and Price Waterhouse, as part of employee enrichment programs. Most recently, John has become a novelist with six historical adventure novels currently published.