Rachel Babineau is an artist and designer based out of Toronto, Canada where she attended OCAD University for Material Art and Design and received her BDes. in 2015.

Rachel uses many mediums in her work which most often take the form of acrylic or mixed-media paintings, digital and traditional prints and murals. Her love of fashion and education in textile design influence her fine art practice where she incorporates textile techniques such as block printing, repeat patterns and beadwork.

Inspired by the beauty she finds in everyday moments as well as popular culture the subject matter of her work often includes fruit, plants, and animals. Rachel’s work is colourful and expressive with the goal of bringing joy to the viewer and beauty to the world.

In 2017 Rachel’s work was included in OCAD U’s Project 31 auction as well as House and Home Canada, Toronto Home, and Collections Magazines. Outside of her fine art practice Rachel is involved in art education and community art. She teaches art in schools through Dare Arts, has been a guest speaker at Conestoga College, and has created Peel & Reveal Murals, a new way of approaching collaborative community art.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Rachel’s love of making and curiosity for new materials and techniques drive her creative practice. She often incorporates techniques such a block printing, masking, and most recently beadwork into her paintings, prints, repeat patterns, and murals. Her main sources of inspiration include fashion, architecture, and plants. The style of Rachel’s work can be described as expressive and colourful as she aims to amplifying beautiful moments in daily life that may otherwise be overlooked.

When creating a new work Rachel takes advantage of both digital and traditional approaches, starting with a digital sketch and then exploring materials through physical samples. While painting Rachel uses digital drawing over a photograph of her work-in-progress to plan next steps and resolve the work.

Rachel is currently working on a series of paintings that are embellished with beadwork. This series highlights the contrast between the fast and flowing nature of acrylic paint and the slow and precise technique of beadwork. She is exploring how working in tandem with these two contrasting materials mimics the balance we try to find in life when expressing and presenting ourselves.