Willsher-Martel was born in 1925 in Victoria, British Columbia. She received early art instruction from her father and was influenced by Emily Carr's paintings of trees. Willsher-Martel traveled to Europe in 1950 and settled in Toronto in 1951, where she studied painting with William Ronald. Her paintings of the 1960s were abstract, but in the 1970s, her work became more tonal and focused on almost abstract landscapes. She used a meticulous, pointillist technique to create forms silhouetted in atmospheric curtains of color. Her work drew upon the scenic beauty of British Columbia and its light, space, and atmosphere.
