Margaret Willis

I have always loved to play with paint. I cannot sit by a piece of blank paper without doodling on it in some way. Truth! As a child, I watched my mother colour photographs and was fascinated at how she got the lovely tones to stand out from a once black and white picture to a beautiful coloured one. At 18 I was accepted into a Commercial Art Course but sad to say never went as circumstances prevented me from doing so.

I have done ticket writing at TAFE and Cartooning by correspondence. I began to paint in 1988, Australian Fauna on T-shirts for tourists. I dabbled with writing and have been published in some Poetry Volumes. I also have a self-published book that I wrote in conjunction with Disability Services Queensland (as it was known in 2003).

I had a successful Art Show in 2003/2004 in which I had forty-one paintings and happy to say that thirty-seven sold. Unfortunately, life again changed direction as I dealt with cancer for both myself and my daughter, who unfortunately lost her battle. Recently I have begun to paint again.

Why? I love to paint. I love the expression that flows from your mind, your heart, your body into your fingers and amazed at the subjects that fall onto the canvas as living proof of who you really area. I simply love to paint. I use all types of Mediums. I am self-taught. I play with paint, inks, crayons, watercolour, pens, stencils…. Really anything that can create the magic I am looking for.

I always start with my backgrounds. I like to see what comes from all the colours and I confess I love faces. I have always drawn faces and I love eyes. They are not called the window to the soul for nothing. I hope you enjoy what you see.