Helen Wilson was born in Paisley in 1954 and trained at Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1976. Her paintings of ballerinas, musicians, performers and behind the scenes views from her residencies with the Royal Ballet and Scottish Opera have won her critical acclaim. She has exhibited widely in London, USA and Scotland and is the recipient of several art awards including the 2017 Scottish Portrait Award (SPA) in Fine Art, the David Cargill Award from the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts, the Diploma of the Paisley Art Institute in 2005, the Garrick/Milne Competition Commissioning Prize: Portrait of David Suchet in 2003 and Regional Prize: The Discerning Eye Exhibition, London in the same year. She was elected member of Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts 1984, Royal Scottish Watercolour Society in 1997 and Paisley Arts Institute in 2005. Wilson's paintings are in various private and public art collections including the Glasgow Art Gallery, Kelvingrove, Paisley Museum & Art Gallery, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal College of Physicians.
Wilson's recent work has involved exploration into 3D constructions which are both a result of and an influence for her paintings through retracing a personal history.