About

Based in the hinterland of Byron Bay, Hilary Herrmann paints pensive, instinctual, sometimes visceral dreamscapes that both pay tribute to and defy the everyday.

I am motivated to paint by the need to express my thoughts and imagination. 

I have a strong desire to bring people into my storytelling.  The figures, creatures and visual references often reflect a wide range of curiosities and references and intrigues.  They come from a diverse range of sources that include fragments and abstractions from the world of mythologies, the kabbala, poetry, literature, popular culture, current affairs,  personal memory and daily rituals.  

The works become a metaphorical place to find a haven  and safe place to roam from the harsh realities and complications of the modern world, the shadow of which is still often discernible.  This makes for a strangely compelling cocktail of innocence, whimsy, longing and menace.

My work is also about hopefully gaining knowledge, about experimentation and about the skills of painting and mark marking

– Hilary Herrmann, 2021