Most have heard of UK puzzle series Where’s Wally?, but now there’s a new kid on the block – Little Willy.
Williamstown artist Daryl Fox has come out of retirement to create a series of 12 paintings of historic Williamstown scenes, as seen through the eyes of a little boy named “Willy”.
Fox was commissioned at just 20 years of age to paint a portrait of King William to celebrate Williamstown’s centenary. The portrait has hung in the Williamstown Town Hall for nearly 50 years.
His new series of a lad growing up in Williamstown is a collaborative effort with historian Geoff Dougall, who is responsible for the research behind the paintings.
“Clad in a raincoat, hat and gumboots, Willy was a familiar figure around the town on weekends in a time when the Depression gave little scope for the things kids take for granted today,” Mr Dougall states in his description of the fictitious character.
“He is like a ‘Where’s Wally’ but he’s there and he’s the spirit of Williamstown; the spirit of being brought up in Williamstown as kids.”
Subjects of other paintings will include the Point Gellibrand lighthouse, which was destroyed in 1976, and the building of the Timeball Tower in the 1840s.
An exhibition of all 12 paintings is expected to be held in Williamstown when Seaworks reopens later this year.
