Shadows and Light

Rachel is a full-time, studio-based painter at Newcastle Community Art Centre, but her career path to date has been varied and at times unexpected. From working as a set painter for a film production company to selling wine, Rachel’s industrious and creative nature has seen her take on all manner of jobs and adventures in order to pursue her long-held dream of being an artist.

Rachel’s passion for art began in childhood, but it was nurtured during her three years at Cardiff University in Wales, studying for her Bachelor of Fine Art degree.

“I always loved to paint but I was taught at a time in the late 1990s when painting was deemed ‘unfashionable’ due to the rise of the Young British Artists such as Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

“At that stage, British art was all about the concept and the essay behind why you might have done something and less about the act of putting paint on a canvas…”

Read more in the Edition 71 of Hunter & Coastal Lifestyle Magazine.

Story: Laura Jackel.