Late October Painting

Canadian born, of British descent and returning once more to Australia after several years in the UK, Eastern Europe and most recently Southeast Asia, Hilary Allen is not only a true commonwealth citizen but carries with her a broad wealth of global experience and cultural absorption. After a spell teaching English in Japan, Hilary moved to the United States in the early nineties and it was there twenty years ago that she first fell in love with painting, exploring the many avenues of art before migrating to Australia in 2010. With initial commissions affording the development of her work into a wide range of figurative and abstract styles, Hilary quickly began focusing on a style that, through both independent and collective exhibition, has seen collectors hang her pieces on their walls as far afield as Seattle, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Edinburgh, York, Sydney and Brisbane. Whilst the inspiration for Hilary's work may come from a deeply personal well, or sometimes just a fleeting moment in time, it has the ability to evoke in the viewer their own perspective, their own resonance, piquing memories that only they can understand with the use of rich colour fields and inviting textures. Not simply inspired by beautiful landscapes or breathtaking architecture, it is the oft overlooked details surrounding us that catch Hilary's attention. From countryside to city, the weathered timbers of natural patination and the peeling textural layers revealing tales of yore inspire the most and are so beautifully manifested in the work that they speak not so much of her intention, but to the viewers own imagination… to where they want, or simply allow it to take them. Hilary's paintings often engender an honesty in the viewer that surprises them..."it isn't what I see, it is what you see that is important to me", is Hilary's ethos, and one that continues to bring a great deal of pleasure to both the artist and her audience.