Artist Biography

I was born in Yerong Creek, a small country town in the Riverina region of NSW, surrounded by art, with my Father being an artist and gallery owner.

My Father, Gerry Willis, taught me to paint with oils when I was 5 years old, instantly obsessed, I focussed heavily on my art education throughout high school and I begun formally studying art at university when I was 18 years old.

I began exhibiting my work nationally and internationally when I was 20 years old and I have continued to do this regularly for the last 20 years.

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My paintings consist of heavily worked, multi-layered backgrounds, focusing on vibrant colour combination, texture and pattern. I use large areas of positive and negative space by painting out the ‘busyness’ of the abstraction and letting the eye rest and the animal figure appear. Mostly focusing on the ethereal shapes of horses and birds.

My painting style plays with the connection between abstract expressionism and figurative art.

My love of abstract expressionism comes from Artists from the 1950’s like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, who’s art was characterised by emotional expression through gestural brush-stokes and mark making created with an impression of spontaneity intended to produce a contemplative response in the viewer.

With a heavy influence from my Father’s art style of realism and portraiture art - I also love figurative art, in particular animal figures. Aiming to capture the reverence and wisdom animals innately hold.

Often there is an assumption that figuration and abstraction are mutually exclusive, but I like to focus on their connections rather than the boundaries between both styles and over the years of experimentation I have forged my own individual style of these two art genres.

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My art is intended to invite the viewer to let go and find themselves in the complex and energetic details of the work while taking in the larger animal shape in which I often personify with human characteristic and emotion.

Understanding human psychology, emotion and well-being is one of my greatest passions and this is the over arching foundation to my art practice.

If the viewer can recognise their need for freedom from one of my paintings of a bird flying, expanded wings, soaring through the sky. Or can feel their need to find their inner strength from viewing a painting of a horse standing strong, with a proud chest and reverent bowed head, and choose to buy that artwork, to remind them of what they need, everyday, then my creative work is done.

If someone can connect their deepest personal needs by viewing one of my paintings then I have succeeded in my creative goals.

My paintings are created with clear intentions to serve the human spirit.