Born in Istanbul , Ilda Shakarian graduated from Esayan High School in 1969.  With her fine talents and hard studies, she was accepted into Istanbul’s esteemed Fine Arts Academy  majoring in Oil Painting.  During her years in the Academy, she was honored  to work in the studios of such well known artists as Bedri Rahmi Eyupoglu, Nuri Iyem, Adnan Coker, and Devrim Erbil. In addition to her rigorous art curriculum, Ilda also studied the human anatomy, art history and earned a certificate specializing in stain glass technique. 
Immediately after graduating from the Academy, Ilda’s certificate in Pedagogy came in handy as she was asked to teach drawing and painting at Pangalti’s Mekhitarian High School.  She continued teaching there until she immigrated to the United States at the end of 1982.
 In her current oil paintings, one can see influences by expressionist Edward Munch and surrealist Salvador Dali.  Notably, Ilda’s artwork exhibit deformation of objects and nature.  In addition to brush, her latter abstract pieces incorporate the use of spatula technique.