Wilson Family: Drawn to Paint

Devonport local Scott Wilson returns to the Depot along with his daughters Leah and Erica for their first family exhibition, Drawn to Paint.

A former commercial creative, Scott has created a series of vivid appropriations in charcoal, which portray the relationship between humans and the natural environment. Morphing New Zealand birds and butterflies together with the female form, his works reflect the notion of interconnection. Scott’s life-long passion for drawing has led daughters Leah and Erica to inherit his love for art and a natural aptitude for painting.

Leah’s influence is deeply rooted in the land forms of her home in the Waitākere Ranges. Painting large, loose landscapes, her current body of work attempts to draw the essence out of the landscape yet still show the interface of humanity with the land. Leah’s paintings are an attempt to reconnect with the land and to help others to make the same connection, combining nature and nurture.

Equally enraptured by landscapes, Erica’s inspiration evolved from her appreciation for black and white photography. This manifests in her works as a coalescence of memories of landscape and sculptural forms from her travels in South America. Erica’s chiaroscuro paintings are an amalgamation of opposing extremes juxtaposed on a single canvas and her style reflects the contrasting imagery found in Scott’s works, creating a common thread between all family members’ work.

Drawn to Paint has challenged Scott, Leah and Erica to explore the variations and themes in their mediums and provided them with an opportunity to showcase their mutual love of art as a family.

Drawn to Paint opens on Saturday 2 December at 2pm, alongside Bevan Smith’s show, Saving Our Species: New Zealand Birds.