Artospective: Landscape paintings by Hillary Scott.

An Interview with Hillary Scott.

Who and where are you from?

My name is Hillary Scott, and I am a contemporary landscape painter from Boston, MA. I have a BFA in illustration from UMASS Lowell.

How you got into this?

I have always been a creative person throughout my childhood. After graduating with my art degree, I worked as a children's book illustrator for awhile before switching to full time landscape painting.

What is your driving force?

My goal is always to capture a particular mood and a sense of light.

What kind of work you do and why?

I paint landscapes. I have an affinity for marshes, skies, and farmland. I seek out these subjects and they always provide fresh inspiration for a painting, no matter how many times I have painted the same view or location. Plum Island remains a favorite location year round. There are more skies and cloud formations than I could ever hope to paint in my lifetime. I also like to work in a variety of sizes and formats. I work as small as 4x4" and as large as 24x36" (I plan to go larger soon) When I am contemplating a subject for a larger painting, I will usually try it out small first.

Tell us more about your thought process.

As a former children's book illustrator, I was using a very high chroma color palette. When I switched to landscapes, that palette was far too bright to realistically capture nature. I had to learn how to use greys and much more muted colors with just a tiny hit of those jewel colors-less is more! I also observe and paint from life/nature more than I ever did as an illustrator, although most of my work is done in the studio from a combination of photographs and plein air studies. I like to take workshops with artists whose work I admire and continue to challenge myself with new subject matter and fresh ways to depict familiar subjects.