Rachel is a Lancashire-born artist, known for her energetic seascape paintings as well as her landscape and figurative works. She is a member of Manchester Academy of Fine Arts, The Small Paintings Group and more recently, Associate Member of The Society of Women Artists.
Her weather filled seascapes, portray the relationship between the land, sea and the forces of nature, closely mirroring the way in which the land and weather can shape our emotions, hopes and aspirations as human beings. Her work is textured, magnetic and atmospheric.
Rachel is better recognised for her sea and landscapes but also paints more figurative melancholic works, still life interpretations and portraits, all of which she tries to capture the fundamental soul and substance of each subject. Several of her pastel drawings and oil paintings have been selected for The Pastel Society, the RBA (Royal Society of British Artists), The SWA (Society of Women Artists), The NEAC (New English Art Club) and The ING Discerning Eye. “I like to paint everyday life situations, the mundane even, such as a sorrowful man, a girl in a cafe or some flowers past their sell by date”, Rachel Says. Collectors describe Arif’s works (her figurative work in particular) to have an almost antique/vintage feel to them, as though painted in a past era, yet still retaining a contemporary feel.
In her studio, she surrounds herself with naturally found objects such as wild flowers, dried lavender, old fishing nets and driftwood. She collects old photos of people and places, each of which have an emotional connection and a story to tell. She uses some of these as inspiration for her drawings and paintings.
