Welcome
Hilary Slater paints landscapes of the Canadian wilderness, from Ontario to Labrador with a focus on four seasons of painting. She also works in large-scale abstract landscapes in mixed media.
Her career work in Landscape Architecture as well as Education and recent Book Writing are all represented on this website.
Recently Hilary's painting focus has been on Geomorphology, capturing the natural forces that sculpt the land, above and below the visible surface. Ontario shows evidence of Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic forces contributing to the shaping of our region. She has been painting for over 40 years, and has developed a unique undulating style, in her focus to fine tune her craft. Country life in Georgian Bay has greatly contributed to her process as a landscape painter.
Hilary finds that plein air reference painting allows her to stay loose while she captures the exact landforms and colours around her. The lack of control with wet-on-wet method watercolours forces immediate decision-making before things flow or freeze. She loves the excitement of letting go, allowing natural processes to aid in the creative process. Recently, Hilary’s winter wet on wet paintings have incorporated snow as a medium, allowing the natural material to force more abstraction into a very Canadian medium. When combined with pigment, this enriches the tension and release in her work.
Hilary's palette is inspired by the wild contrasts of the four Canadian seasons, particularly contrasting the ecstatic explosion of autumn with the cool barren expanse of winter. Her many years of colour research and producing handmade paints have led her to build courageous combinations in both watercolours and oils.
Her recent acquisition at Kakabeka of an off-grid wilderness cabin (see blog for details) has resulted in a focused exploration of isolation in the wilds of Northern Ontario surrounded by the Canadian Shield. Her Masters in Landscape Architecture aids Hilary in transposing native tree and plant species into her creations, whilst also being cognizant of the geomorphology of subsurface and surrounding landforms in her work.
Hilary has been featured in PleinairMagazine.com, American Watercolor.net and has also been interviewed on Youtube by Kate Taylor Artist and 'Two Oldfarts' recently. She has given guest presentations to the Don Valley Art Club, Barrie Art Club, Orillia Museum of Art and History, Quest Art School, and Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts.
Hilary sometimes incorporates contour line work in her paintings, which led to the interview and article in American Watercolour magazine. https://americanwatercolor.net/inspired-by-stained-glass/
As a child and teen, Hilary was inspired by Tom Thomson's Landscapes, and later Patterson Ewen for his Geological imagery and bold line work. Other influences over the years are: Tony Onley, John Hartman, Doris McCarthy, Edward Burtynsky, A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Scott Driscoll, Susan Scott, Anselm Kiefer, Brian Rutenberg, Lars A.Perssons, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, Betty Goodwin, YoYo Ma, Gerhard Richter, Deborah Worsfold, and Georgia Okeefe.
Thomson’s works of “Gorges of the Petawawa,” (the original name for Barron Canyon) led Hilary to produce many pleinair research studies of Barron Canyon- in all four seasons, capturing the gorge from above and below. Her own life story nearly ended there- like Thomson- in 2019, which shifted her painting focus to Kakabeka. (See blog).
Her career work in Landscape Architecture as well as Education and recent Book Writing are all represented on this website.
Recently Hilary's painting focus has been on Geomorphology, capturing the natural forces that sculpt the land, above and below the visible surface. Ontario shows evidence of Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic forces contributing to the shaping of our region. She has been painting for over 40 years, and has developed a unique undulating style, in her focus to fine tune her craft. Country life in Georgian Bay has greatly contributed to her process as a landscape painter.
Hilary finds that plein air reference painting allows her to stay loose while she captures the exact landforms and colours around her. The lack of control with wet-on-wet method watercolours forces immediate decision-making before things flow or freeze. She loves the excitement of letting go, allowing natural processes to aid in the creative process. Recently, Hilary’s winter wet on wet paintings have incorporated snow as a medium, allowing the natural material to force more abstraction into a very Canadian medium. When combined with pigment, this enriches the tension and release in her work.
Hilary's palette is inspired by the wild contrasts of the four Canadian seasons, particularly contrasting the ecstatic explosion of autumn with the cool barren expanse of winter. Her many years of colour research and producing handmade paints have led her to build courageous combinations in both watercolours and oils.
Her recent acquisition at Kakabeka of an off-grid wilderness cabin (see blog for details) has resulted in a focused exploration of isolation in the wilds of Northern Ontario surrounded by the Canadian Shield. Her Masters in Landscape Architecture aids Hilary in transposing native tree and plant species into her creations, whilst also being cognizant of the geomorphology of subsurface and surrounding landforms in her work.
Hilary has been featured in PleinairMagazine.com, American Watercolor.net and has also been interviewed on Youtube by Kate Taylor Artist and 'Two Oldfarts' recently. She has given guest presentations to the Don Valley Art Club, Barrie Art Club, Orillia Museum of Art and History, Quest Art School, and Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts.
Hilary sometimes incorporates contour line work in her paintings, which led to the interview and article in American Watercolour magazine. https://americanwatercolor.net/inspired-by-stained-glass/
As a child and teen, Hilary was inspired by Tom Thomson's Landscapes, and later Patterson Ewen for his Geological imagery and bold line work. Other influences over the years are: Tony Onley, John Hartman, Doris McCarthy, Edward Burtynsky, A.Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Scott Driscoll, Susan Scott, Anselm Kiefer, Brian Rutenberg, Lars A.Perssons, Barbara Hepworth, Henry Moore, Henri Matisse, Betty Goodwin, YoYo Ma, Gerhard Richter, Deborah Worsfold, and Georgia Okeefe.
Thomson’s works of “Gorges of the Petawawa,” (the original name for Barron Canyon) led Hilary to produce many pleinair research studies of Barron Canyon- in all four seasons, capturing the gorge from above and below. Her own life story nearly ended there- like Thomson- in 2019, which shifted her painting focus to Kakabeka. (See blog).
An old-fashioned form of selfie.
HILARY SLATER's work can be found at
Blue Crow Gallery in Toronto,
Guelph Art Gallery,
Double Doors Gallery, Anten Mills,
Gallery BADA, Collingwood,
Hilary invites you to join her new Youtube channel:
@hilaryslaterartist.
She works at
HILARY SLATER STUDIO
in Tiny, and Kakabeka, Ontario.
Buy paintings directly from this website.
or contact [email protected]
for more information.
Blue Crow Gallery in Toronto,
Guelph Art Gallery,
Double Doors Gallery, Anten Mills,
Gallery BADA, Collingwood,
Hilary invites you to join her new Youtube channel:
@hilaryslaterartist.
She works at
HILARY SLATER STUDIO
in Tiny, and Kakabeka, Ontario.
Buy paintings directly from this website.
or contact [email protected]
for more information.