Zanna Wilson (b. 1978) has spent her entire adult life living and working in Scotland.
Brought to Scotland by University the country got entirely underneath her skin and she is now living happily near Aberfeldy with her family. Zanna’s career had a hiatus in 2012, when her workload was seriously diminished by becoming her ailing mother’s primary carer. That part of her life came to an end in December 2019, and it is no coincidence that she’s returned to work with such zeal, picking up the mantel where she left off.
Whether depicting rolling countryside or city scenes, Zanna likes to focus on the energy of the landscape and scratch beneath the surface. Her work is very much about the process of looking and expressing the energy she feels in response to her environment. Weather is no hindrance to Zanna’s plein air endeavours and in fact, the more dramatic the weather, the better.
Zanna has become a highly collectible artist and her work is held in the UK, America, Dubai, France, South Africa, Hong Kong, Austria and New Zealand. Strathclyde Universities recently purchased one of Zanna’s paintings for their public collection. She exhibits with the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour, the Society of Scottish Artists and the Royal Glasgow Institute. Her work has also been exhibited in art fairs in London, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Cambridge. During 2020, Zanna has enjoyed a renewed online success with the Artist Support Pledge initiative and client engagement through her @zannawilson Instagram handle. She is now also available to discuss commissions.
In March 2021, Zanna was offered the chance to not only present a solo exhibition with The Watermill Gallery, but to also curate and run the space with the liberty to put her own signature on the already well established Gallery space. This will compliment her interest and experience in running an art gallery and lead on from her Masters degree from Edinburgh in History of Art.
Zanna has had an incredible first year running and curating The Watermill Gallery. ‘Call to the West’ was her tenth curated show and 2021 – 2024 has seen group shows and solo shows with a range of media, styles, ages – both established and young new emerging artists have been exhibited and celebrated. Talks, workshops and feast-style Private Views working with www.ballintaggart.com have livened up the space and made the gallery a hub for the arts. Learn more on the Watermill section of the website.
“Zanna Wilson’s work has a powerful sense of place and the special light of Scotland’s skies. Her work always carries a sense of ‘feeling’ which captures what is special to the Scottish landscape – the change of colours and light through seasons. This sense of constant change underlies the energy that comes through in these works and with the experimental use of materials is what makes it so exciting.”