Wellman’s first “real” job, besides delivering newspapers, was working for Grover Bostwick as a roustabout in a carnival in Northern Wisconsin. His definition of art is expansive; consequently, his work as a carnie, a cab driver, a private investigator, a minister in a cult group, a ceramic tile designer, a videographer, an MFA graduate of CalArts, and co-founder/co-director of Axle Contemporary coalesces into visual and cross-disciplinary art forms. Wellman’s various art and curation projects have been exhibited nationally and internationally.

His work as an artist conceptually explores the realms of being and essences. The work exists on a fragile border between storytelling and poetry, between rational and irrational, between didactic and incomprehensible. He has been working as an artist in diverse ways, including installations, art actions, video, illustrated books, performance work, and through social engagement.