Rachel James, Old School House Art
Rachel creates expressive, vibrant, energetic paintings, experimenting with acrylic paint working quickly and intuitively.
In her recent body of work she is enjoying exploring a more abstract, playful approach which focuses on emotion, movement, texture and mark-making in a strong style with vibrating complimentary colours.
Prior to the abstract collection of work, her semi-abstract mixed-media paintings incorporated acrylics, texture and collage media into each layer of her paintings; vintage books, newspapers, tissue paper, printing, fabric, along with acrylic inks, paints and mediums to create depth and texture. She created her own printed papers, drawing with collage and acrylic ink. Her portfolio is here.
Painting gets Rachel into a state of creative zen, rhythmic relaxation, where time disappears and the painting emerges; she sometimes dreams about her paintings and wakes up with a new idea or a creative challenge solved. There are shapes and swirls that come through again and again and it’s a mystery why but these same shapes and swirls and also in her garden and home.
Inspiration comes from the seasons and the bright, bold blooms in her garden and the local Cambridgeshire fenland countryside. Rachel is an unpaid carer and works part-time in a florist shop which also stimulates inspiration and is another opportunity to work with her hands, surrounded by colours and textures.
Rachel loves the work of Hilma af Klint, Matisse, Picasso, Kandinsky, John Piper and expressionism. Inspiration also comes from the materials themselves, acrylic is a really versatile medium and she plays and experiments with it.
Rachel works from her garden studio at The Old School House in a South Cambridgeshire village.
Rachel studied Surface Pattern Design and Textile Design at art colleges in West Yorkshire and Nottingham. On leaving college she worked as a freelance artist, then for a fashion manufacturing company before embarking on a twenty+ year career in marketing. Between 2010-2016 she ran her own marketing business for clients in universities, charities and social enterprises. In 2019 she began painting and selling her paintings locally, on social media and by word of mouth.
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