Rachel’s creative process begins in nature: walking, watching, listening, taking photographs and sketching. These moments outdoors are immersive and intuitive, responding to all the senses. Quick charcoal marks in sketchbooks capture shifting impressions—the drama of a sudden cloudburst or the wild sweep of wind through salt-burned grasses and twisted coastal growth. Alongside these visual marks, she makes written notes documenting sounds, sights, and experiences, as well as quick colour studies. These sketchbooks are an intrinsic part of her practice and a vital starting point for her work.

 

In the studio, the impressions gathered outdoors are transformed through memory, instinct, and emotion. Rachel works primarily in oil and cold wax, incorporating natural materials such as limestone and slate dust, ash, and dried organic matter. These heavily textured surfaces, almost sculptural in areas, echo the turbulence and movement of coastal weather and its impact on the shoreline. She works on canvas, wood panels and paper, but also collects weathered, textured pieces of wood—already carrying their own stories—to use as a base for her paintings. She is fascinated by the layered narrative between surface and paint.

 

Her process is highly physical and layered. She begins with thin washes of oil, building up thick textures using brushes, palette knives, scraps of cardboard, dried organic forms such as seaweed, rags, and even her bare hands. The process is not precious—it is intuitive and energetic. Paint is applied and scraped back as quickly as it is laid down; the surface moves from upright to flat on the floor, turned on its side or upside down, allowing paint to run and suggest its own direction. She allows the paint to flow freely, guiding her next move and inviting chance to reveal unexpected details. She is excited by the physicality of paint, its surprises and possibilities—the unpredictability echoing the nature of the weather itself.

 

In contrast to this energy, some works explore a quieter, more ethereal mood: paintings evoking mist-laden days or the soft, muted tones of dusk. Here, paint is used with greater subtlety, thin layers built up to create a sense of depth, light, and atmosphere. Her paintings carry a visceral energy, mirroring the ever-changing elements that shape both land and self.

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Biography

 

Rachel grew up in the Staffordshire countryside, where her love of painting the landscape began in childhood. She began her art training with a Foundation in Art & Design at Loughborough University, before going on to study Illustration at Falmouth College of Arts, graduating in 2006. Her time in Cornwall, surrounded by dramatic coastal landscapes, deepened her connection to the sea and inspired her early landscape paintings.

 

After moving to South Wales, Rachel worked as a freelance illustrator, while continuing to develop her painting practice from her studio at Kings Road Studios in Cardiff. In 2007, she founded and curated an independent gallery in Cardiff, working collaboratively with both emerging and established artists.

 

In 2012, Rachel returned to full-time painting, drawn back to her own creative practice. She now lives in Mumbles, on the Gower Peninsula, and paints from her studio in Langland. Her work is regularly exhibited and held in private collections across the UK.

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