HIS art has taken him all around the country speaking to people about depression and now Greg Wilson is coming back to where his life's tale all began.He grew up in and around Manly and lived in the Church Point and Bayview area.

Nelson Mandela's goth Birthday Dinner 26^th July 2008 at the Armora Hotel in Sydney, organised by MaAfrika Tikkun Australia. (Mr Nelson Mandela is the Chief Patron for MaAfrika Tikkun.)

IN A world that ran sometimes seem dark and out of our control, a spark of hest and hope is being spread by Hope the Firefly in the lead up to this year's Toowoomba’s Christmas wonderland.

Bandage Bear Benefit Night which raises money for both cancer research at Westmead Children's Hospital and Kids Fund, Saturday 27^th October 2007 at West Illawarra Leagues.

IN one of Greg Wilson's paintings, an ea^gle soars above a barren Aus­tralian landscape. Slashes of brown and orange mark the terri­tory. You can almost feel the heat from the white sun beating down. Opposite, in another painting, two weary far­mers chat in a plan­tation forest, cool dark greens dwarf them.

DEALING with depression has been a tough challenge for Greg Wilson but talking about it helps. Next weekend he will tell of his battle at a forum in Warrnambool. MARIA WHITMORE reports: GREG Wilson should be dead. In fact, he was pronounced dead at one point 13 years ago after a high-speed motor‑ cycle crash that severed his carotid artery and broke his femur.

One in five people will suffer some form of mental illness in their lives, with depression and anxiety the most common forms

GREG Wilson, 37, a renowned Australian art­ist and guest speaker at next week's community forum My Brush unth Depression at Deakin Uni­versity, joins the many sports stars and celebrities who are prepared to speak openly about their battles with mental illness.

Black dog gala dinner and ball held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney.

DEPRESSION is a serious illness and one which often flies under the radar according to ar­tist Greg Wilson who has battled with the disease for years. The Lifeline patron hopes to visit Toowoomba in the next few months to share his story about depression and how to live a ful­filled life.

ARTIST Greg Wilson has an amaz­ing view from his kitchen window. He peers out on more than 16 hec­tares of natural Hunter Valley splen­dour and has captured what he sees in a painting that was auctioned last night at the Burstows Christmas Wonderland.

IT comes as no surprise to learn that many of the inmates at Don Dale juvenile detention centre feel lost and abandoned on the outside But a visit from an inspirational artist this week aims to turn that around for some inmates left in the dark by depression.

Art appreciation: Left to right, Stephen James, Danielle McManus and art Judge Greg Wilson at the Branxton Community Art Auction

The Greg Wilson Art Gallery, nestled in the picturesque Hunter Valley Gardens Village, provides onlookers with an insight into the mind of the artist, writes Lauren Carter.

Noted Hunter Valley artist and patron of Lifeline Austalia Greg Wilson has officially opened the new look Lifeline shop at 336 High Street, Maitland.

People always have somewhere to go when they break a leg - but where do go when your mental health needs repairing?

Greg Wilson, who spoke at Friday's forum on depression at Armidale's New England Regional Art Museum, says he wants to "pay people forward rather than paying them back".

It’s FUNNY the places where people can find solace. art. work, colours. or even the words of a John Denver song. Greg Wilson, the speaker at Friday's Rural Depression Forum told how painting saved his life and how. In time's of trouble he turns  back to the words of Denver- 'If we stand divided we will fall but if we stand united we can conquer all.

Prime Minister John Howard with Greg Wilson at the launch of "My Brush with Depression" at Parliament House in June.Greg Wilson is a man who painted his way out of depression and into national and international acknowledgement.

NOT even the news of a $19,000 canvas destroyed in transit could dampen the spirits of acclaimed artist Greg Wilson when he arrived in Darwin. "These things happen he said. "From the moment I stepped off the plane people have been really positive and friendly and very ap­proachable about what we're here for and that's all that matters."

After a long battle with depression and a suicide attempt, a young Australian artist found answers to his problems through a personal journey and a very special
friendship, writes GREG McLEAN

Leaden skies gave way to rainbows when—with the aid of friendship and his surprise artistic gift—Greg Wilson finally conquered depression. Like a bullfighter sidestepping his foe, Greg Wilson knew how to skillfully woo, then outwit, death.

NOBODY understands the importance of artistic expression quite like Hunter-based artist Greg Wilson. The 34-year-old painter said he used his art to deal with the depression that had affected his life since he was 12 years old.

  TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP BOOK LAUNCH, ‘MY BRUSH WITH DEPRESSION’ PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA.

Well thank you very much Chris, Greg and Aaron and Josie Alder and my other ministerial and parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentleman.

HOW is media mogul Ted Turner like Spike Milligan? What links John Cleese, Michelangelo and Vincent van Gogh? And what stormy creativity gave the world Monet, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Ernest Hemingway and Mary Shelley?

The answer is, depression.

The battle against depression can be lonely, desperate and sometimes tragic. LISA MUMORTHY looks at the road one man travelled to find hope and new meaning.

THE story of Greg Wilson is a frank and at times confronting look at the dark world of depression. The debilitating condition took hold when Wilson was just a teenager living on the northern beaches.

GREG WILSON ARTIST - Dogged by depression since adolescence, Greg Wilson saw the world as a dark place until art brought colour into his life. He tells Anne Lim about his journey back from the brink of suicide.

For as far back as I can remember I felt like I had a massive lead weight on my heart with lightning bolts coming out of it, which was anxiety. It was there every single day until I was 28. I grew up in Davidson, a leafy suburb of Sydney.

The long road to life

Well-known Hunter Valley artist, Greg Wilson (right), and mate, Aaron Cootes, have co-authored a book about Greg's battle with depression entitled My Brush with Depression - the Greg Wilson Story (pictured left), launched today by Sydney radio broadcaster, Alan Jones.

Climbing out of an abyss: Depression

THE depth of concern over the incidence of depres­sion in the community was underlined at a day-long forum in The Civic yester­day. Sponsored by beyondblue, the national depression initiative, the forum was organised by Gun­nedah Rotary Club and Grey Power Gunnedah and drew a capacity attendance of 150 peo­ple.

More than 600 paintings will be on sale at The Canberra Times Outdoor Art Show from tomorrow to March 20 on the lawns of Old Parliament House, near the Rose Gardens. The work of local and interstate artists will be displayed on a beautiful avenue of oak and cedar trees. The paintings will vary in topic and medium, ensuring many tastes are met.

Greg Wilson is working and he's doing everything from paintings to sculpture Gillian Lord discovers

BRIGHT colours are a hallmark of Greg Wilson's paintings. So bright they make you gasp and give a flash of instant cheer. This, the artist explains, is deliberate. He's drawn to brightness because he's haunted by a world of dark and grey, the colours of the depression he's managed to confine to barracks, still there but much more manageable.

Eclectic contemporary artist Greg Wilson was brought up on the northern beaches of Sydney, dedicating as much time as he could to his favorite pursuits of surfing and riding motorbikes.

A painting passion restored colour to the life of Hunter artist Greg Wilson where once there was only black depression, writes Joanne McCar

Greg Wilson's STATE OF MIND' Exhibition

Australian artist, Greg Wilson, displayed his work for the first time in New York, at he Australian Consulate an June 30.

Over 150 guests attended the 'State of Mind' Exhibition, including loyal fans of Greg's work, as well as those who were not yet familiar with the man who has established a self-titled gallery in the Hunter Valley, Australia.

SHE has met some of the world's best-known leaders and actors but Jennifer Hawkins was delighted last week to be having a chat with a local bloke. The Holmesville beauty is currently a guest at the 15th International AIDS Conference and has been mixing with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, statesman Nelson Mandela and actor Richard Gere (see main picture at right).

SENIOR students in Singleton will be inspired today when they take ­part in the annual Singleton RSC ­ inspirational speaker program. Greg Wilson is the guest of honour this year which is the ninth year the RSC has sponsored the concept.

Successful international artist Greg Wilson once saw life as a series of browns and black. Suffering the agonies of depression from adolescence, he sought escape from its demons by speeding on powerful motorcycles and with other high-risk activities. He failed to find understanding from the traditional medical fraternit and had several close shaves with death, one from his own hand. He finally found empathy with the help of a naturopath, Josie Alder, who put him on the road to managing and respecting his illness.

Greg wilson no longer has to grapple with his demons but his art classes are helping others to take a firm holds on theirs. Troubled Cessnock children and some adults are learning to express emotions such as pain and happiness through painting.

Recognition has come from a number of successful exhibitions held in trendy Sydney-town where he sold works bound for the USA.More recently he has been approached by several galleries in New York to exhibit. However, he's turned his back on the bright lights for a newfound peace at Pokolbin on a 40-acre property near his Hunter Valley Gardens based gallery. The new lifestyle is the perfect creative environment from which his prolific inspiration is drawn.

RETIRED New York fireman Frank Ancona was reduced to tears, when he saw a sculpture by Pokolbin-based artist Greg Wilson depicting the destruc­tion of the September I I terrorist attack on the twin towers of the World Trade Centre. The work, made of twisted metal retrieved from a demolition site against a painted background representing dust and smoke, has an aluminum Statue of Liberty torch rising from the rubble.

Come in and find out why "Everybody Wants A Wilson"!

At age 24 Greg was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident in Paddington, severing the main artery in his neck and being pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene before they were able to bring him back to life.

 AT age 24, Greg Wilson was involved in a near fatal motorcycle accident at Paddington, Sydney. Paramedics thought he had died after main artery in his neck was severed.   During a traumatic four-year re-covery period in which he suffered “depression, anger and confusion” he summoned his previous wood-work skills and carving to begin making works of art.

BEING involved in numerous motorbike accidents takes its toll on your constitution, but the near-enough-to-death experience of Church Point resident Greg Wilson did nothing to dampen his creativity. In fact, it inspired him and he discovered a talent hitherto untapped. Conveniently, "taps" are a recurring theme in Wilson's work – his next exhibition is at Paddington's Global Gallery on Tuesday.