[1] He began as a commercial artist and illustrator, working for Brigden`s engraving house in Toronto (1926) where he was influenced by Charles Comfort and Will Ogilvie, then at Sampson-Matthews Limited.

In 1927, Wilson began working in Detroit where he learned illustration and lettering and was also exposed to museums and books about fine art.

[4] In 1949, Wilson’s first six-month sojourn in Mexico at the artist’s colony of San Miguel de Allende became a turning-point in his life.

[4] While in Mexico in the early 1950s, he met David Alfaro Siqueiros who taught Wilson how to use pyroxylin (Duco).

[4] His trip to Mexico that year and in 1953 led to the influence of Rico Lebrun, whom he was to admire life-long, and stimulated an interest in mural painting.