Painting is my way into an inner world, a secret garden of colour and shape.
Painting as a hobby is where it all began and the hobby has now become an essential part of my life. Flowers are the centre of my focus and their myriad colours, combined with their delicacy and fleeting nature, are a constant source of inspiration.
I work from life, or from my own photographs but both are merely a starting point and many paintings are created from a combination of various images. Watercolour presents the artist with many unexpected “ accidents” and often shapes that appear in initial washes become suggested flowers and so a painting often chooses its own path to completion.
Over time my work has moved away from botanical accuracy into a more expressive style and become looser with runs and dribbles becoming part of the process of creating the image.
Classes
Although I no longer teach regular weekly classes I am still running day workshops in watercolour (landscape and flowers) and Brusho painting. Details can be found on the diary page of my website www.artbyrachel.co.uk . I am also happy to run evening or one day workshops for art clubs.
Galleries
My work is shown in Chantry House Gallery in Ripley and also features on line at my website
www.artbyrachel.co.uk and on artbyrachel.artweb.com where originals and prints can be bought. I also show paintings in a number of Exhibitions in Yorkshire and beyond.
Illustration
I have had many paintings licensed for greeting cards etc for companies including W H Smith, Woodmansterne, Matalan and Ling.