Matthew Hillier

Now living in the United States, Mathew Hillier was born in Buckinghamshire, England and grew up near Windsor Castle. Drawing and painting animals is something he has loved to do since he was a child. Hillier's father was a museum designer who taught his son the rudiments of painting with watercolors, a medium Hillier used during his years as an illustrator, along with gouache. In recent years, when he made the transition from illustrator to wildlife artist, he also switched to acrylic because it involves a looser painting process.

Traveling widely in search of subjects to study and paint, Hillier has visited Africa - where he was once charged by an angry elephant - many times, as well as India, Europe and Southeast Asia. He loves the big cats and rhinos and finds himself drawn to the water birds. When doing field research, Hillier sketches and also takes photographs, finding that while the photos are very useful for details of color, shape, background and texture, sketching forces him to "feel the subject" more.

Hillier studied at Dyfed College of Art in Carmanthen, West Wales, and graduated with distinction. Three of his paintings were accepted by the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, and he has exhibited regularly at the Pastel Society, the Society of Wildlife Artists (where he is a council member) The Royal Institute and the Miniature Society, as well as the Paris Salon, the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Blaritz Salon. A member of the society of Animal Artists, his work is part of their traveling exhibition. He has participated in Christie's Wildlife Art Auction, and his work has been included many times in Leigh Yawkey Woodson's touring show of "Birds in Art." He has had one-man exhibitions throughout Great Britain and has illustrated several books.

In 1995, Hillier won the World Wildlife Fund Fine Art Award. In 1998 he received the "People's Choice Award" from The Florida Wildlife and Western Art Expo. In 1997, 1998 & 2001 he received The Society of Animal Artists' Award of Excellence. Hillier received the "People's Choice Award" at the Wildlife & Western Visions Show in 2002 & 2004. In 2003 he won the "Artists for the Next Century" Publishers award at the Bennington Art Museum in VT. His work appeared on the cover of Wildlife Art Magazine in 2000 & 2003. He was featured in the March/April issue of Wildlife Art Magazine in 2008. Hillier has taught "Life Painting" for several years at Montgomery College & recently taught a wildlife art workshop at the Beartooth School of Art in Montana. He lives with his wife Julia Rogers, his two step children & his young son in Maryland.

"Taking Flight-Great Egret" Oil by Matthew Hillier, 36x48 $18,000

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