Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Silva.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I am a 29-year-old artist living and working in LA. Primarily I am a painter and illustrator, and I also do background design for the TV show Bob’s Burgers. I was born in Florida, but quickly moved around a lot; from Sarasota Florida to the rural outskirts of Memphis Tennessee, to a little village outside of Zurich Switzerland, until eventually settling in Northern California for a while before moving to Los Angeles. I moved quite a bit within each of these places too, I usually get the itch to move after being in one spot for a few years because of this. I went to school in San Jose, CA, but didn’t really follow a typical path. I went to two years of regular high school but it was obvious that wasn’t working for me after a while, I never got into the art electives so I made a frequent habit of ditching class to go draw or play music. I was probably the most responsible problem child out there, and after a few truancy notices I was lucky to have parents that saw I wasn’t getting what I really needed.
For my last two years of high school, I went to a middle-college program where I could load up on college art classes half the day and complete my core classes for my degree the other half. From there I went to San Jose State University. I studied Animation and Illustration because of the intense skill building they provided, but once I got deep into the program and it became clear that I had mostly digital animation classes ahead of me, (something I had no interest in), I dropped out.
I started on my own body of work, got married, and once my husband graduated we moved to Santa Cruz, CA, where I really found my voice. We were super broke, only had one car, and didn’t know anyone in town. I started walking everywhere, wandering out into the woods and beaches on the daily, I learned how to embrace solitude, and this really embedded itself in my work. I started noticing lighting had a very strong effect on me and chased that. I started experimenting with the light that came through our front door (it had a prism effect) and really took off from there. I built up a body of work there and started showing in galleries around Santa Cruz, the Bay Area, and LA. At one point I was driving from SC to LA almost once a month and it became clear we couldn’t wait for a job to move to Los Angeles. So we got rid of half our stuff and moved to LA with little to no job prospects at the beginning of 2017.
I started showing in group shows on a monthly basis, and even started throwing monthly pop up shows with a couple of friends from school. By the end of 2017, I had a featured artist spot at The Hive Gallery in DTLA with 19 pieces. Right around that time I was testing for a position on Bob’s Burgers, which blew my mind because I never intended on getting into the animation industry. I love the show and figured it would teach me a lot and be a great adventure. I was right! I’m still at Bob’s Burgers, and still showing my personal work in galleries on a regular basis.
Please tell us about your art.
I do illustrations with oil-based colored pencils on wood panels. The process for my main work starts with an idea which I may or may not ideate in my journal. Then I go directly into creating reference for the piece. I do this by photographing the subject or model in carefully designed lighting schemes in my studio. I take a few hundred photos in a session adjusting the lighting and paying attention to how I am responding to each detail; light, composition, angle and so on until I feel like I have what I need. I then review the photos and pick out 5 to 10 that best express what I’m going for. From there I pencil in the line work and begin coloring the piece with colored pencil. Coloring is the lengthiest part of the process as I am constantly making minute adjustments between what I see in the reference and what I ultimately want to express. Once the color is complete, the piece is varnished, then I pour resin on top which takes three days to set. Most of my work is named after songs or lyrics that I think give the piece a deeper meaning or simply amuse me.
Sometimes, I have a very clear intent I want to convey and other times I let my subconscious take the wheel and wait to see what meaning is revealed to me later. More often it is the latter. My work is based more on a feeling and small moments than a lengthy message. I battle with anxiety on a daily basis and have for some years now. I think people who struggle with this have the capacity to feel elation and joy just as intensely as a panic attack and these are the moments I like to capture; Those moments in the light. I am regularly knocked back by lighting, often bringing whatever I’m doing to a screeching halt to investigate it further. This could be the magic hour, a rainbow coming through a prism, shadows cast by trees, the list goes on. A lot of my work is in a pink and blue pallet, these colors feel the most right to me. The best way I have to describe the feeling they evoke in me is that it’s like hearing the last note of a good song. They feel complete and satisfying, and I feel right in them. I don’t know if that has any deeper meaning, but I know I like how it feels so I will continue exploring them as long as it feels right.
On top of this main body of work, I keep journals. I’m on my 8th journal right now (I started in 2012) and they are my safe space to experiment and analyze. I was introduced to this concept by my college mentor who told us to treat these differently than a sketchbook, don’t abandon pages, go back and draw on top of old drawings, don’t use this only for study. The journals are about intention and limitless experimentation. I pour a lot of myself into my journals and I usually have it with me wherever I go. Going between my journal and a large piece keeps me feeling flexible and creatively charged, I tend to get cabin fever if I have to stick to one piece for too long so this can be very helpful when I’ve got a larger piece in the works!
As for what I hope people take away from my work, I love hearing their own interpretations or reactions. I’m not necessarily trying to convey a message that can be taken away as much as I’m trying to capture a moment and feeling in time. If I could give people a glimpse into that feeling of peace and excitement I feel when I see something like light bouncing through a prism or get someone to stop thinking so much and get fully absorbed into the piece, then I would be happy. At the end of the day, this is just something I have to do, no matter how many people see it.
Do you have any advice for other artists? Any lessons you wished you learned earlier?
The best advice I could give is to pay attention to what you’re drawn to. If there is something you keep drawing or painting that comes from a place of true curiosity and excitement, that is worth exploring further. Push yourself to experiment with everything, mediums, subject matter, whatever, and then take that back to what you’re drawn to. Never give up on the pursuit of skill.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My website is rachelmsilva.com and my Instagram handle is @missrachelsilva. I also have two pieces up in La Luz De Jesus Gallery through the end of March, and I will be showing a new piece at The Hive Gallery Anniversary show this April. You can find some prints of mine in The Last Bookstore in downtown LA at the Dove Biscuit Gallery upstairs.
Contact Info:
- Website: rachelmsilva.com
- Instagram: missrachelsilva
Image Credit:
Rachel M Silva
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