Featured Artist Rachel Hurst

Enjoy the charming portfolio of painter Rachel Hurst, who celebrates nature and life with each brushstroke. Learn more about this artist by visiting her website.

 

 

I have always been a creative: interior design, woodworking, landscape design. But I didn’t pursue fine art as my main creative outlet until late in life.

 

 

Four years ago, I was taking care of my father, a master painter and a famous Western artist, in the last years of his life. One of my sisters (a phenomenal fine artist in her own right) came down for the summer to help me care for him. Every day she would go out to my woodworking shop where she had set up her canvases to paint. And every day she would ask to me to join her.

 

 

I had just retired from making my living painting very large-scale, Italian Fresco-style decorative murals on ceilings. I had done that for many years, and it was very physically demanding work. My body was experiencing burnout. Doing more art was the last thing I was thinking about.

 

 

But my sister continued to ask… and after two and a half months of saying no, I finally agreed to paint with her.

 

 

I had never done any fine art. My murals were done on a massive scale and included the elements of Italian Renaissance design but did not include figures. I stared at the blank 16” x 20” canvas in front of me and thought, “What am I going to do with this tiny thing?!” Luckily, I live in Texas, where the summers are swelteringly hot. It was one of those melty days and I found myself wishing for snow. So, it came to me to paint a penguin.

 

 

It was exactly what I needed. The utter joy of creating that bird brought rushing back everything that I love about art and creativity. It immediately felt like home.

 

 

Since that day I have been throwing myself into painting fine art. It is such a joyful, resonant experience. I am interested in every aspect of painting: loose, buttery strokes, tight precise lines, abstract backgrounds, representational figures. It never ceases to compel me. And I have an ever-changing curiosity about where to go next regarding subject matter and style.

 

 

But there is one universal element that remains in my paintings: color. Color evokes emotion in me like almost nothing else. The moodiness of soft colors and the energy of bright ones—and the juxtaposition of them in a well composed piece. It’s what I strive for in my work.

 

 

I have always considered myself a lucky person. Being able to carve out my place in the world as a working artist is something that I awaken joyful about literally every day. It connects me to everything good about life.

 

Rachel Hurst invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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