Rachel Redfern

I am a painter and a coach - they are symbiotic. I paint places, nature and emotions that reflect how we feel as human beings. In our hyper-connected world it is hard to be human amongst the clutter and noise of daily living; life experience has taught me that solitude can be both hard fought for but equally a burden for some and events can expose vulnerability in all of us. The landscape and its flora provides the space and inspiration for me to move away from earthly things and access a higher consciousness and a belief in something greater than ourselves. For this reason I often work ‘en-plein air’ to absorb place, bringing work or flowers back to the studio to develop further playing with scale, materials and texture to get something I recognise. My paintings often start as something different. Using memory, sketches and fragmented paintings I work with the properties of the paint and surface. Slowly an image emerges that captures something I recognise with mistakes highlighting the uncanny; unthinkingly capturing the sublime. I have worked with interior designers and direct with clients on commissions and have work in private collections both at home and abroad, with original work selected for the National Open Art (NOA) in 2017. I am a graduate of Newlyn School of Mentoring with an MA in Fine Art from Chichester University and a Foundation Diploma in Art from West Dean College.