Rachel Parker

Rachel Parker is a self taught artist who works mainly in watercolors. Her paintings feature cats, horses, dogs, wildlife, farm animals, landscapes, abstracts and still life.

Rachel has been drawing since she was old enough to hold a pencil. As the daughter of the artist, Gretchen Evans Parker, Rachel was raised going to art lessons and watching her mother paint.

Employed full time as a school social worker, Rachel paints at night and on weekends.

Her motivation for creating her art is to capture what may otherwise go unnoticed, to reveal the beauty in simple moments and objects. Making an image come alive on paper or canvas is her inspiration.

Rachel has always felt a connection to animals.

"I'm convinced that animals have a soul, and I try to capture that in my work. When you look into the eyes of an animal, you get a glimpse of their soul. Hopefully that glimpse will bring peace, and a sense of connection to the greater world, both human, animal, and spiritual, that is every where, every day, just waiting to be noticed. I hope my art serves as a reminder of these things, and celebrates the sanctity of such simple but profound truths.|

While Rachel's art often features animals both domestic and wild, without question the Siamese cat is the most frequent subject of her paintings. When asked about her fascination with Siamese, Rachel's responded,

"I don't know what it is about painting Siamese cats, but I can't get enough! I'm sure it's those incredible eyes, which reflect their quirky personalities, intelligence, and warm heartedness. My best friend was once a Siamese cat named Smokey. He would lie on my chest with his purring chin on mine, and we would fall asleep that way. I remember thinking at that moment that this was the most blissful I could possibly be. My current cat in residence is Sadie.  She is very much the diva, and knows when the camera is on. She positions herself in front of it and loves to have her picture taken. She is very proud to be featured in so many of my paintings although when I'm painting, she gets jealous of the attention I'm paying to the watercolor, and tries to get in front of me."

I Purr, Therefore I Am

In 2011, Rachel produced a book titled "Catitudes: I Purr, Therefore I Am". The charming 8" x 10" volume features 32 of Rachel's paintings of Siamese cats, each coupled with a quote about cats or feline attitudes and characteristics.

Cattitudes is available in soft cover, hard cover and for the technologically advanced feline lover, it is also available as an Ebook or in Apple iPad format

Rachel lives in Columbia, South Carolina, and sells her work nationally and internationally through www.rachelsstudio.com.

You can also follow Rachel's art adventures by friending her on her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/rachelsstudiodotcom.