"In painting I try to show the spiritual side of life. The current series is of animals at the Toronto Zoo. There is also work available from three ongoing series: Lake Ontario, Grenadier Pond, and the Humber River. I focus on birds as a spiritual symbol. The new animals and birds I am painting at the zoo are from all over the world. Some are endangered. I hope to learn from them as I have learned from birds for the past fifteen years.”
Hilary Porado holds a BA in Studio Art from Wellesley College, including a year with Syracuse University in Florence, Italy. It was in her sophomore year that she declared her major in Art after a pilgrimage to the Bahá'í Shrines in Israel. After graduation, she worked as a graphic artist at United Press International and later at Newhouse News Service and then Maturity News Service where she further developed her mature style of cartoon graphics.
It was after another trip to Israel with prayers at the Bahá'í Shrines that Hilary Porado rededicated herself to painting. While her children were at school, she painted more and more. In November 2009, she was photographed by The Globe and Mail while painting from a lifeguard's chair at Sunnyside Beach. Solo exhibits at Toronto public libraries and Swansea Town Hall resulted in sales. She sold work at the Art Tour and sold paintings locally and internationally on Etsy for years. Today the Porados sell from their home studio with this website.
Ms Porado has had a number of series ongoing. From 2008 to 2025, Grenadier Pond; a short Hay Bale series; the Humber River from the banks and later from a kayak in the marshes; Lake Ontario from Scarborough to Burlington and the Niagara River; from late 2024, she has been working at the zoo.
Some Canadian painters she has studied include Emily Carr, Helen McNicoll, JEH MacDonald, Tom Thomson, and AY Jackson. The main thing she has in common with all of them is that they all loved to paint outdoors.
Artistry
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