There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article shines light on a gifted individual.
By Peter Trippi
Editor-in-Chief, Fine Art Connoisseur
RACHEL PERSONETT (b. 1991) paints landscapes in plein air, working to capture what she experiences in nature. Her process involves no drawings or studies, only rapid brushwork executed on site that relies upon her firm understanding of perspective, value, and proportion to complete the large works, sometimes in only one session.
Born in Hawaii, Personett was raised in Monument, Colorado. Her father worked as an airline pilot, which gave her the opportunity to travel extensively at a young age. As for her graphic designer mother, Personett fondly recalls her volunteering “to give talks at my elementary school each week on a different famous artist, dressing up in the style of the paintings or the period. At first I was embarrassed, but then I actually began to love learning about the painters. I particularly remember being moved by the works of Van Gogh and Andrew Wyeth.”
Clearly her interest blossomed, as Personett proceeded to study for one and a half years at Georgia’s Savannah College of Art and Design. Encouraged by Prof. James Langley, soon she sought a more traditional approach to art education. This led her first to the academy in Florence run by Michael John Angel, then to the Florence Academy of Art nearby. Founded by Daniel Graves, the latter is a structured three-year program that, in Personett’s words, “can train beginners to become very competent painters. Students work from life and live models every day, always improving their drawing and training the eye.” After graduating, she finished off her training with an eight-month-long apprenticeship at the studio of the Norwegian master Odd Nerdrum.
Today Personett is a principal instructor at the Florence Academy of Art’s longtime Swedish satellite in Mölndal, near Gothenburg. There she enjoys the “cozy family feeling I have found in this community of painters,” and she praises the similarities between Sweden and her home state of Colorado, with their long winters offering superb skiing and ice skating. Sweden is “a great place to have a family,” she adds, noting that such benefits as parental leave and free child care and healthcare “have made it possible to continue painting while raising a small child, something that would have been impossible for me in the U.S.”
Personett enjoys exploring the city of Gothenburg and its scenic surroundings: “As a family, we take long walks around the lakes, checking out new locations to paint.” Once she sets up her easel, “I find it peaceful to work in nature. It can be challenging to stand outside in the weather for the whole day, but then I find something rewarding in challenging myself. Every season brings new motifs and each has its own special beauty.”
This fact becomes clear in a painting like “House through the Woods,” illustrated above, which deftly conveys not only the beauty of Swedish foliage and historic architecture, but also the distinctive silvery light that permeates it, even in early summer.
This article was originally published in Fine Art Connoisseur magazine (subscribe here).
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