Rachael Dewhirst

Born in Auckland in 1991, completed honours in Fine Arts in 2013 at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand

Rachael Dewhirst, a colourist and expressionist painter and a young kiwi whose preference is to paint without inhibition or restriction. “I love the process of painting. Initially I wanted to cram various techniques of painting with colour, shapes and form, but a lot happens by chance, for me the best work is made when I don’t care so much and am fearless, not being too precious about the process”

Dewhirst’s paintings are not only stimulating and uplifting but thought provoking. The artist’s journey and exploration with each work absorbs and engages the viewer and with alluring splashes of colour and imagery, each work is a joy to behold.

Rachael Dewhirst takes inspiration from exploring the wilder New Zealand Landscapes. The response to her subject is painterly, using the canvas as an area for investigation into paint practice. Dewhirst plays with a range of paint application techniques, applying paint in impasto and translucent washes. Her intention is to relay the feeling of exhilaration and the energy felt in nature through the utilisation of paint. Her works sit somewhere between abstraction and representation.