Artist profile
Emma
Dillon Hill
Emma Dillon Hill is a visual artist working in an abstract style, using pigments and pastels to create vibrant yet gentle paintings. She strives to create a duality of softness and intensity, achieved through the use of colour and the materiality of her chosen
mediums.
Emma Dillon Hill is a visual artist working in painting and drawing. Working with pigments and pastels, she strives
to create a duality of softness and intensity, achieved through the use of colour and the materiality of her chosen
mediums.
Her work focuses on the moments of beauty found in the mundane and the expression of the internal through
abstraction. She uses her practice to find meaning in the monotony of daily life and trasnlate her internal longing
into tangible form.
With a Bachelor in Fine Art, and having studied teaching and graphic design, she has been a practising artist since
graduating from the National Art School in 2015. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows at galleries
including LEDA gallery, Lander-Se gallery, Saint Cloche and Rainbow Studios and she has been published in Hunter
& Folk and Art Edit Magazine. She currently lives and works in South Sydney, Australia.
Artist Quote
- Solo show at LEDA gallery in 2025
- Upcoming group show hosted by LOAF gallery, with a stable of incredible artists
- Being featured in publications including Hunter & Folk, and The Inspired Co
Artist Interview
What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?
I work predominately with pigments and pastels, that I use to stain the canvas in a way. The way I make my work has evolved a lot as I've learnt how far I can push my chosen mediums. When I wash them over the canvas with a very watery binder, I am able to push the pigment or pastel into the surface of the canvas. This has allowed me to explore opacity and play with layering to create interesting marks and shapes.
How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?
I use my practice as a way to explore colour and our ability to communicate with it, so a lot of my paintings start as colour tests. I don't make studies but I do make colour tests. When beginning a new body of work I will always have a making session with no boundaries, one where I am free to explore every idea I have and get them out of my head and onto canvas. From there I see what colours I am drawn to and lean into those. It's a lot of testing and processing. It's very intuitive.
Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?
I work from home, and I find it incredibly freeing to be able to tap in and out of painting whenever I need to. I have designated studio days but I find being able to look and spend time with my work between studio days allows me to understand them, and what they need.
