Jill Ansell was born in a West Australian Wheatbelt town on a particularly cold July morning in the '60s. Three wise women (and an intelligent dog) would have arrived bearing gifts, but their camels became distracted near Eucla. 

During a happy childhood, Jill displayed strong art skills showing dexterity with the texta and considerable aptitude in mural development with a lovely sequence of images on her bedroom ceiling. 

She won art prizes as a teenager and had her work displayed in Parliament House at the age of 16.  After this promising start, she stopped painting completely in favour of travel, teaching, raising children and dealing unsatisfactorily with domestic chores.

In 1999, after some arm-twisting from a friend, Jill returned to painting, winning the Town of Victoria Park Art Award. She has painted ever since, delighting patrons with her bright and humorous take on West Australian life.

She has won a number of awards and is represented in a number of collections including Royal Perth Hospital and the Town of Victoria Park.