About Rachel Singleton | UK Wildlife Artist

Visionary Wildlife Watercolour

I am Rachel Singleton, a UK wildlife artist working in watercolour. I am drawn to the visionary and mystical impact of wildlife encounters.

As a student at Durham University, studying English in my late teens, I was introduced to the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins, and his stunning poem ‘The Windhover’. There is a section in this that has remained with me ‘My heart in hiding / Stirred for a bird, – the achieve of, the mastery of the thing!’

Each time I see a kestrel stippling the wind above me, or happen upon a heron skulking by the water, or I suddenly find myself amongst a charm of goldfinch, I find my heart stirred by birds, as if something within me wants to fly and soar too.

Elemental Art

To observe Nature is to observe the elements - and the wild lives within them. I love exploring how a creature can emerge from and disappear into sky, hedgerow, woodland and water. There is so much happening around us that we never get to see, and so much that we only see in glimpses.

As an artist, I enjoy the way that I can subvert this, and work a little alchemy. I can capture a fleeting moment in time and space, bringing together all the shifting elements of a wildlife encounter. In doing so, I get to invoke both the spirit and presence of wild creatures in wild spaces.

I return to the medium of watercolour again and again because it has its own wildness. The element of water, together with the paint, has a way of moving and running on the paper in ways that cannot be fully controlled.

I love working with the freedom and unpredictability of this - responding to the unexpected, and allowing the painting to grow intuitively. Something about this process mirrors Nature itself: always changing, unpredictable, responsive and alive.

An Intuitive Approach

As my art is inspired by wildlife and seeks to honour the creatures around us, then the materials I use must also reflect that care. Since 2021 I have been sourcing vegan and environmentally responsible art supplies — from paints and brushes to paper and inks. Recently, I have also begun experimenting with plant-based acrylics, and I look forward to seeing how they may weave into future work.

This is not always the easiest path, but it feels the truest one: to create art that celebrates the natural world without compromising it.

A Thoughtful Practice

Exhibitions

My work has been exhibited in solo and group shows across Cumbria and beyond. Highlights include:

Upcoming

  • Exploration, Brantwood, Coniston - April 2026

  • Cumbria Local Arts Exhibition - April 2026

  • The Brilliance of Birds, Rheged, Penrith - June-October 2026

Recent

  • Harrogate Art Fair - March 2026

  • Affordable Art Fair, Green Door Artists — November 2025

  • Ambleside Art Society Annual Exhibition — October 2025

  • Wild of Wing — Solo Exhibition, Brantwood House, Coniston (2025)

  • All At Sea, Upfront Gallery, Penrith (2025)

  • Green Door Artists 30th Anniversary Exhibition, Kendal (2025)

  • Wilder Lakes Exhibition, National Trust Beatrix Potter Gallery, Hawkshead (2024) — group exhibition with textile artist Jane Exley and oil painter Joy Grindrod, exploring the wild side of the Lake District

Art For Conservation

There is both fragility in the natural world around us, and exquisite, precious beauty. I don’t think any of us want to see this being chipped away in our time, and yet this is happening.

Even here, in the Lake District where I live — a National Park and World Heritage Site — habitats are being degraded, and animals, birds, and insects all show signs of struggle.

Can a painting change this? I don’t know. But I am willing to try.

Every time I tune into a bird, animal, or insect to paint it, I find myself drawn into the wonder of it. The resulting painting feels like a prayer, a blessing. It is my hope that each work helps to keep this wild, beautiful world at the forefront of our minds, rather than in the background.