April Wilson

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed drawing as my preferred method to explore ideas and visualise thoughts. Drawing has formed the basis for most of my artwork with the exception of my sculpture.
As a child I spent many happy hours modeling in clay which is another medium in which I feel quite at home. This interest became of use to me when I was offered my first job to train as a sculptor in Madame Tussaud's Waxworks studio. During my time there I learned a great deal, but after six years I was ready for a change.
A new opportunity came when I was commissioned to paint a mural in Majorca. This was quite a challenge for me, but one which I greatly enjoyed.
A second came in the form of an offer to illustrate a children's picture book. I thoroughly enjoyed this experience, but further books would have to wait, as I then moved to Brazil with my partner where we lived for the next eight years. During my time there I undertook portrait and mural commissions and had our two children.
Upon our return to London I resumed my work with children's book illustration and wrote one as well. After four more books I was asked to design a course in children' book illustration for Central Saint Martins in London. I now have two courses running throughout the year at the college which is part of University of the Arts London.
About this same time, my art began to change direction as I wished to appeal to a more adult audience. The Koi Carp paintings, which were the result of this change, grew out of a happy combination of interests. These were; paper making and surface decoration in the form of gilding, leaf embossing and marbling. Now after completing over fifty paintings the majority of which were sold in Sundance USA, I am still enjoying their creation as much as I did seven years ago when I first started them.

I have more recently begun to explore oil painting for my Koi Carp. I am enjoying the richness and depth of colour which this medium can offer as a contrast to the watercolours used for most of the previous Koi paintings. However, although this now opens up a new area for exploration which I look forward to, I will still continue painting the watercolours as I enjoy the series of processes they go through beginning with paper making and ending with the final painting.