PAINTER, PRINTMAKER Celia Wilson

I completed a BFA at Elam School of Fine Arts, University of Auckland in 2007, and a BFA(Hons), at the University of Canterbury in 2008.  Since 2007 I have been researching the availability and the historical and current uses of earth, mineral and plant pigments in New Zealand, mainly those of Canterbury, Banks Peninsula and Hurunui.  I have exhibited in group and solo shows, and held many paintmaking workshops to show how colour is obtained from local rocks, clay and plant materials.

From these pigments I prefer to make watercolour paint but can also make acrylic or oil paint. The characteristics and intrinsic qualities of these unrefined pigments define place by linking their unique attributes to their location.  Form and image is allowed to develop on the paper or canvas with the minimum of intent and intervention on the part of the artist, to allow the materiality of the paint to express itself.

My interest in landscape stems from a curiosity of how land is formed, and how humanity has changed both the land and its biota. A practical involvement with the land in Paparimu, near Hunua, (since 1989) has included the design, establishment and running of a certified organic orchard for ten years until 2007.  I am now living and working in Oxford, North Canterbury.  I volunteer at the Arts in Oxford gallery helping with exhibition installations.