Born 1965 in Glasgow, Gill comes from an artistic family; her mother was at art college in the 1950s and her sister Susan Gathercole is a member of the RCA. She spent her childhood in Liverpool, Conwy, North Wales, and the Ribble Valley. After completing a two year Arts Foundation course she graduated in Fine Art painting from Nottingham in the 1980s; she then worked as a graphic designer for a number of years before running her own mural business. She now follows her own art practise, working from her home studio in Sheffield as well as running regular art classes and workshops.
She paints both still life and landscape. Her still life paintings use much loved ordinary, everyday objects where she paints directly from life whilst distorting perspective and building on a strong structural design. Her landscapes are inspired by the beauty and wildness of places she knows well and feels connected to. This work is intuitive, inspired mainly from memories and imagination, however in both themes her concern and interest is in the ‘exploration and creation of a visual language … brush marks, building layers, gestural marks, drips, splashes, scratches, thin washes through to the juicy thickness of impasto, the wonder and joy of colour.’
Gill’s influences are many, including: Joan Eardley, Elizabeth Blackadder, Joan Miro, Henry Matisse, Winifrid Nicholson, and Richard Cook.
Her work is held in many private collections throughout the UK.