Paul Hillary was brought up in Aspatria, a town on the border of the Lake District in Cumbria. Following an education at Nelson Thomlinson School in Wigton he spent a year doing an art foundation course at Carlisle Art College, before going on to achieve a degree in Graphic Design at Kingston University, London.

Since formal education Paul has forged a career in graphic design around London and the home counties, punctuated with painting trips and sabbaticals to countries including Greece, Thailand, Africa and Australia.

Paul now lives in Hertfordshire with wife Juliet and sons Joe and Reef and owns the Design company Red Echo.

His painting subjects historically have been still life and landscape on location, but recently Paul has been concentrating on conceptual abstract work utilising the fusion of shape and colour, both on canvas and in graphic work.