shifting skies 02

shifting skies 02 [2022]

original

Acrylic and mixed media on board

Image size: H:30 cm x W:30 cm

Complete Size of Unframed Work: H:30 cm x W:30 cm x D:0.5cm

Frame Size: H:40.5 cm x W:40.5 cm x D:2cm

Sold Framed

Please note that insitu images are purely an indication of how a piece may look

Although an imaginary landscape this painting is totally grounded to my local surroundings. Inspired by my daily walks along the coastal path favoured by poets of long ago, the work is about my relationship with this landscape, the places where the land, sea and sky interconnect and the tension and energy these natural intersections hold.

Rachel is a contemporary mixed media artist. Her studio looks out over the Bristol Channel towards Wales and the Somerset coastline. She initially studied Interior Design and gained an Honours Degree working for many years in this field. This has undoubtedly shaped the way she processes and formulates ideas for her paintings, particularly composition and the use of colour. “My work is about my relationship with the landscape around me. An emotional response to its drama, beauty and rhythms. Evoking long held memories of the place I call home, paths and fields I have walked many times. Constant immersion in these familiar spaces will trigger an idea; a place to begin my work.” “The places where the land, sea and sky interconnect and the tension and energy these natural intersections hold is a constant fascination to me. All these visual encounters create an ongoing library of gathered images in my head which together with photographs and sketchbook notes are used to develop my ideas.” Rachel uses these images/memories and they take shape and gain energy intuitively finding a way to reveal themselves through her creative process and result in semi-abstract paintings ultimately fulfilling her need to respond emotionally to nature. Rachel especially enjoys creating textures in her work through the building up of layers of acrylic paints and inks together with collage and various other media such as pencil, charcoal and pastel. Each mark is made in response to the one before, a process of simplifying and abstracting, using finer and finer drawn lines to pull the shapes together and hold the feeling of the landscape within. The layers give a depth and history to the work which is curated and distilled down to communicate the feeling and essence of a place.