An environmentally conscious painter living in the San Francisco Bay Area, Rachel grew up in rural Oklahoma where she developed a great appreciation for nature, spending ample time at her family’s farmland. As a young girl she expressed her love of nature through art. She developed her observational skills and artistic talent nurtured by her family and teachers, and before attending university was fortunate to be mentored by Kathleen Blake, a well known artist in Oklahoma.
Rachel received two BFAs in Painting and Art History from the University of Kansas. She studied abroad at the Marchutz School of Art in Aix-en-Provence, France, and attended printmaking workshops from Ron Pokrasso in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After graduating university, Rachel worked as a studio assistant for Carol Ann Carter and more recently has been active in the San Francisco Bay Area art scene.
From the modernist landscapes of Cezanne to the contemporary artwork of surrealists from Australia, Rachel continually feeds her mind with artwork from every corner of the world. This variety of influence leads her to treat each piece as unique and special, injecting strong conceptual elements in the creation process. The images she creates often become surreal with unexpected combinations of symbols and shapes, interwoven with alluring colors. Rachel regularly draws inspiration from her love of nature as an escape from the crowds of the Bay Area, or conversely to criticize the human impact on the environment. As of late Rachel’s work has taken a more personal tone as a young cancer survivor, creating artwork that is meditative and cathartic.
