ARTIST STATEMENT
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I want to look beyond the mirror, see beneath the surface and understand what it's all about.
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My contemporary narrative paintings have a quirky surrealist, dream-like quality and investigate how our inner and outer worlds collide. I use classical painting techniques combined with expressive brush strokes and mark making to disrupt the realism. I often use repetition of forms as a metaphor for time travel and build up many layers of acrylic and oil paint and scrape them back to reveal history, atmosphere and luminosity that glows. The modern palette is sprinkled with prismatic color and vivid neons that reflect hope in our fragmented world. These paintings are extrovert and introvert. They simultaneously demand the viewer to engage in a mysterious journey and also invite you to find a stillness as we connect the dots.
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I paint intuitively and my own stories end up weaving themselves into the loose narratives but the themes are universal. Several themes show up in my paintings - Reflections and Light, Air, Water and Figures as landscape, Climate change and Motherhood, Artificial Intelligence and Escapism from technology.
I'm a scientist and an artist, a Brit and an American, A Gemini. Examining two sides of a coin and questioning multiple perspectives is a natural part of my process and how I move through the world. I don’t prescribe an answer and hope you can return to the painting many times and find your own story.
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I hope these paintings give you time to pause and enjoy your journey little bit more. -- Rachel