"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. Annual solo exhibits at Toronto public libraries and Swansea Town Hall resulted in sales. She sold work at Art Tours and on Etsy for years. Today the Porados sell paintings from their home north of High Park and south of the Junction in upper Bloor West Village, Toronto.
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