Rachel Arif is a landscape painter based in London, who spends much of her spare time along the Suffolk Coast, where she is inspired by its enchanting coastlines, quaint rural villages and woodland areas. Her multi textured, weather filled oil paintings, 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. Her work is semi-abstract and loosely painted, highly textured, magnetic and atmospheric, capturing the intense force of the weather as it shapes our lives and souls in the same way it shapes our natural landscape. Her own story starts in Rochdale, Lancashire, where as a child her deep affection for drawing and painting led her to be regularly scolded by teachers for drawing in her text books. She studied History of Art at Manchester College of Art before developing a successful office based career within the heart of vibrant Soho. Whilst on a family holiday on the Suffolk Coast she was struck by the beauty of the natural light, in particular, where the intoxicating weather conditions painted a constantly evolving view of the sea, beaches, and rural landscapes which inspired her to begin sketching and painting again. Once her young children began school she had more time to focus on painting and with the support of her husband, she set up a studio at home where she began experimenting with a range of mediums and found her love of oil painting. Soon sketches gave way to more serious works and she found herself in artistic demand. Rachel’s work has been exhibited in a range of galleries including the prestigious Mall Galleries in London, where renowned Art Critic, Richard Fitzwilliam named her painting Ghost Dance as one of his favourite paintings in a review on Art Online. Her work has been featured in several interior design magazines.
