Mel Williamson is a Canadian painter whose emotionally perceptive oil paintings explore the power of gesture, light, and fleeting human moments. Based on Salt Spring Island, Williamson creates figurative and observational work defined by immediacy—scenes that emerge through bold strokes, subtle edges, and the sculptural presence of paint itself.

“Fresh and honest—that’s the greatest compliment my work has ever received.”

Originally trained in graphic design and illustration at Capilano University (1993–1997), Williamson worked professionally as a designer for many years. After long days behind a computer, she craved a physical relationship with materials. The tactile pull of oil paint—its slipperiness, its resistance, its honesty—brought her full circle back to painting as a primary practice.

Williamson paints without drawing or outlining. Starting directly on canvas, she blocks in essential shapes with a large brush or palette knife, letting the subject arrive gradually. She is drawn to the interplay of dark and light, and to the way form can be carved out of ambiguity. Her backgrounds remain loosely tied to her figures, partially releasing them, creating a dynamic tension between emergence and dissolution.

“My work has been described as fresh and honest,” she says. “I want to capture the emotion held within a gesture—the truth revealed in unconscious movement.” Her paintings present a chain of observation: the unaware subject, the attentive painter, the viewer who completes the moment.

Williamson’s inspirations include hazy daylight, dusk traffic, dim restaurants, hardware store fluorescence, and people absorbed in their work—moments of unguarded humanity. She draws from extensive life-drawing practice, weekly figure sessions, and a commitment to continual study. Her education includes workshops with Shane Wolf, Rob Liberace, Max Ginsburg, Jeremy Mann, Nadezda, and Justin Ogilvie, among others.

Her career accelerated in 2013 when her painting Thelma and Her Baby won “Best Work on Canvas or Board” at the Sidney Fine Art Show. Since then she has received multiple awards from the Sidney Fine Art Show and Sooke Fine Arts Show, as well as juror’s choice distinctions. Solo exhibitions in Toronto, Sidney, and Salt Spring Island have established her as a sought-after contemporary Canadian painter.

Today, Williamson works full-time from her Salt Spring Island studio. Her paintings continue to balance immediacy with subtlety, sculptural presence with emotional truth—elevating quiet, honest human moments into lasting, luminous images.

“I want to capture the emotion held within a gesture—the truth expressed through unconscious movement. I paint without drawing first, letting subjects emerge naturally from the canvas. The tactile nature of oil paint becomes part of the story; forms appear like sculptures being released. I aim to elevate brief, humble moments into something witnessed, validated, and deeply human.”

Education

• Capilano University, Graphic Design & Illustration (1993–1997)
  
• Workshops: Jeremy Mann & Nadezda (Menorca Pulsar, 2018), Max Ginsburg (2018), Rob Liberace (2017), Shane Wolf (2015), Justin Ogilvie (2019)
  

Awards

• Juror’s Choice Award, Sidney Fine Art Show (2018)
  
• Award of Excellence, Sooke Fine Arts Show (2015)
  
• Juror’s Choice Award, Sidney Fine Art Show (2015)
  
• Best Work on Canvas/Board, Sidney Fine Art Show (2013)
  

Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2022, Art Interiors, Toronto
  
• 2022 & 2020, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney
  
• 2018 & 2015, Steffich Fine Art, Salt Spring Island
  
• 2014, Café Talia, Salt Spring Island
  

Selected Juried / Curated Exhibitions

• Sidney Fine Art Show (multiple years 2013–2019)
  
• Sooke Fine Arts Show (multiple years 2014–2017)
  
• SSNAP Parallel Show (2017, 2019)
  
• Various curated shows on Salt Spring Island and Vancouver Island