Hilary was born near Barnsley in Yorkshire. She moved to the Isle of Wight in 1984 to work as a sailing instructor, and has lived there ever since. In 1986, she studied textiles at West Surrey College of Art and Design in Farnham, now the University for the Creative Arts. She has always been drawn to the coast and loves the constant activity of the sea, the weather, and boats. Her skills as a sailor give her a good understanding of boats and the water. She enjoys travelling to coastal locations and sailing regattas further a field from the Isle of Wight Hilary works primarily on location, out in the elements, so she captures how that feels in her work. The paintings are mostly completed in one sitting and that's what gets framed. She paints with acrylics on paper. More recent studio paintings have been concentrating on capturing the sight of boats cutting through the water and the bow-waves that this action produces. Hilary has been exhibiting her work on the Isle of Wight and the South coast since she started painting professionally in 1991