Rachel Richards

Rachel is a UK based abstract artist who paints intuitively. She is half Iraqi and grew up between Bristol and Saudi Arabia. Her work definitely draws on memories of the Middle East. The use of textures and colour are drawn from both the opulence and glamour of the cities, juxtaposed with the crumbling and decaying texture and atmosphere of the old towns and deserts. Rachel works mainly with acrylic paint and textural mediums. Gold leaf and metallic paint often make an appearance as well experiments with fabrics and paper as collage elements, adding depth and drama.

“For me, creativity has always been there through my life, it has expressed itself through many roles and endeavours, but since putting brush to canvas, or scraping sand and acrylic across a board I have started to find ‘the voice’. All the pieces I create begin with an act of communication. We start. Me and the work. I find time to be alone with the work and make a first decision. Usually as simple as how light or dark I want to go. And from there it’s up to the work to respond. These small decisions then start to take form and colour. Action and reaction. Sometimes it’s an easy conversation. Other times arguments. Even full-blown rows and breakups where the canvas is burnt and torn. Small decisions that create the full picture. A little bit like life I suppose. I breathe and listen, trusting the process. This process can take a couple of days or sometimes weeks or months. It’s only really finished when neither of us have anything more to say.

Each work represents a moment in time: the feelings and emotions over that period. A visual diary. Life being marked by, gesture, movement and decision”.

Rachel graduated from The University of East Anglia in the 90’s where she gained a BA Hons in Art & Design, specialising in printmaking. She went on to work as a freelance textile designer selling to some of the major fashion houses in both Europe and America.