Born in Brisbane, Robert Wells now lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. The artist says, “My work is a celebration of coastal climate, environment and lifestyle” and “My work celebrates the magic of living by the sea”. At the same time there is an element of nostalgia, a desire to preserve previous things from the ravages of so-called ‘progress’.
Following a personal crisis during the early 1980s, these images emerged as life affirmations during a lengthy healing process.
Now, surrounded by a family of artists, actors, musicians and jugglers, he lives and paints his vision of coastal life. The product of a romanticised vision, his work portrays a softened reality with no jet-skis, high-rise buildings or drink cans.
Wells has won several art prizes in Brisbane, Gympie, and Melbourne; and exhibited extensively, mainly in Brisbane and Noosa. Wells’ works hang in private collections in England, Hong Kong, New Zealand and throughout Australia. His images travel all around the world.