Grounded with an undeniable sense of place and history, her images resonate with a cheeky warmth and humour. Just about every painting includes vibrant living beings — tiny green ants, clusters of galahs or kangaroos — along with precious historical snapshots, such as of Wilson, many years ago, on the back of a horse with her twin sister, returning from school.
Her lush rendition of a well-known local attraction, Copperlode Dam, won a significant award at the regional level. And as part of the Q150 celebrations, Wilson was awarded a commission in 2009 to paint a series of 19th century buildings in Croydon. Featuring corrugated iron, many of the structures are still standing and heritage listed.
Wilson related, “When I turned 60, my twin sister gifted me with about 400 dollars worth of paints, and my younger sister gave me an easel. I asked, ‘Why on earth would you do that?’ They replied it was because I had always been able to draw when I was a child. So I felt obliged to try painting. I started and got better and better. I’m just self-taught, really.”
Wilson went on to join the Cairns Art Society, an eclectic collective of over 300 local artists. “And I never looked back. After the society’s gallery opened in 2008, I brought some paintings in and sold about 10 in the first year. They did me a big favour, my sisters,” she said.
With a keen interest in her surroundings, and in “the stuff of everyday,” Wilson paints in a representational style. “I like to paint what I see, such as landscapes — the occasional seascape — and little critters,” she said. While painting on a kitchen bench at home, she listens to the radio, “mostly ABC 1, especially the chat shows.”
Among her most popular works are large canvases teeming with native animals, cunningly hidden within dense foliage. The paintings take many hours to complete, but are well worth the effort as children can often be found jostling in front of a canvas in the local gallery in a giggling bid to ‘spot all the animals.’
Having worked in various roles, including as a nurse, Wilson now enjoys fishing and being a surrogate grandmother to her grand-nephew and his mate. “I love looking after the children, even though they wear me out — and there’s a new baby coming next July. I don’t know about that. I’m getting a little bit too old for those — the little tiny ones,” she said. Wilson is also an active arts community volunteer, a task that can take up to 30 hours a week.
Above all, for Wilson, art remains a central preoccupation. “I can understand why so many artists are hermits. I would love to spend more of my time painting. When I’m painting, I become lost in time,” she concluded.
