Jill Wilkinson

I make abstract drawings/paintings using automated processes and mixed media, with whatever is at hand, applied with rags, hands, droppers, brushes, and sticks. It is a way of relinquishing control and allowing unexpected things to happen.

My work is about process and gesture - making art in a physical way and being immersed within it. Marks emanate from a spontaneous gestural dance between memory, mood, feeling, emotion, sound and what lies within my peripheral vision. I usually work in series and compositions gradually evolve and each work develops its own character reaching a conclusion over days, weeks or months. Threads link the works together, and repetitive lines and symbols maintain a continuity.

I came to painting late in life but being an artist was something I had wanted from childhood. It was devastating in my youth not to be able to do this, but in hindsight, I realise how much more I gained by coming to art later. After taking early retirement I studied art at Newport College where I gained National Diploma in Art and Design; followed by a BA Fine Art degree - Brighton University (Northbrook MET) in 2012. I have been painting and exhibiting my work ever since.

I have done several collaborative art projects and would welcome further opportunities to collaborate with other creatives, whether artists, musicians, performers, or students in the field of geology or archaeology.