Straight out of High School, Tessler was recruited by Young & Rubicam as a junior Art Director and became the youngest person acquired in that capacity by that agency, which at the time was one of the largest Advertising Agencies in the world. At that same time John was attending what he liked to call, “M.I.T.” or Metro-In-Town City College with a scholarship in fine arts. He decided to leave Young & Rubicam to continue his formal education after receiving a scholarship at CSU the following year.

 

Tessler graduated from Colorado State University in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts. He refined his skills at two more Advertising Agencies in Denver before moving to Sacramento, California in 1982 where he opened Lunia Blue Graphics. John won several national and local awards and was chosen as Sacramento Magazine's "Best and Brightest" in 1985 for his paintings.

 

Over the years John has produced thousands of drawings, paintings, illustrations and prints. There are Tessler murals as far away as Guam and his paintings have shown in galleries from Hawaii to New York. John's Tower Records Calendars were given away at the grand openings for stores in Moscow and Picadilly Circus in London.  For over 20 years people all over the United States collected the anatomically, scientifically correct stamps Tessler painted of fish and marine mammals for the National Wildlife Federation. John has also prepared commissions for the Cousteau Society, Marine World Africa USA, The Steinhart Aquarium, The Aquarium of the Bay, Underwater World, The Nature company and numerous commercial groups like Tower Records, Paramount, Amtrak, California Highway Patrol and Citycorp.

 

Today John continues creating art and has won several local and national awards for his efforts in graphics, illustration, large format paintings and murals