MEET RACHEL SINGLETON
Wildlife Watercolour Artist
LEARNING WATERCOLOUR
INAUSPICIOUS BEGINNINGS
In my teens, I did GCSE Art at school - not because I was any good, but because the art room felt like a magical place - a quiet and colourful sanctuary.
However, any painting or picture I tried to produce utterly failed to look the way I wanted them to. I came away from Art with my lowest grade in any subject. As far as I was concerned, that was the end of my art journey: I obviously wasn't an artist.
A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST?
In my mid-40s, however, something compelled me to pick up a pencil.
Perhaps it was seeing my friend effortlessly sketching beside me in a garden in Egypt that gave me a sudden understanding of how a form took shape on the page. Or the fabulous book I chanced upon - 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' by Betty Edwards* - that opened up my way of seeing. Or the quick drawing I did one day of a hazel twig that had a certain 'poetry' to it.
I quickly became immersed in exploring, drawing and experimenting.
In the intervening years, I have watched hundreds of hours of artists on YouTube, following their tutorials, playing with their suggestions and integrating what I have learned. I think that makes me a self-taught artist?! However, I think it's more accurate to say that I have been privileged to integrate the insights and teachings of a global community of artists who generously and selflessly share, and find my own way from here.
ENCHANTED BY HARES
What really drew me in further was the surge of art that has surfaced over the last 10-15 years of our wonderful, ungainly, British brown hare.
Suddenly, one of my favourite creatures was everywhere, represented in the most delightful forms and colours. As I started to build my basic skills in drawing and painting, it gave me such delight to try to bring these beautiful creatures to life.
Over the past two years, in particular, I have continued to paint certain key animals and birds over and over as my style has changed. I learn so much by returning to the same subject and trying to capture it in new and different ways.
HARE ART
VEGAN ARTIST
I began my painting journey with acrylics. I adored the saturated colours, the forgiving nature of them as a medium - any mistakes could easily be painted over, and the freedom to paint on big canvases over many days until the painting finally came together.
However, at this point, I hadn't given much thought to the nature of the art materials I was using - their environmental impact and the involvement of animal testing or animal-based ingredients.
Yet, if the art I create is inspired by the beauty of wildlife, and seeks to celebrate and support the creatures that surround us, surely it makes no sense to use materials that are harmful to animals and their habitats? Acrylic paints are polymers - plastic based. And whilst this is hardly ever discussed in art forums or circles, care needs to be used when using them: when cleaning the brushes and disposing of the dirty paint water and washing the brushes. Tiny plastic particles can remain in that water and on those brushes that are washed down our sinks and into our water supplies. Once in the environment they will stay there for a long time. (You can read a well balanced blog post discussing this here.)
I first stumbled upon this information in 2021, and immediately began to explore different mediums: water soluble oils (too long to dry), pastels (too dusty) and coloured pencils (too limiting). I had always loved watercolours and it became increasingly clear that this was the medium that offered me everything I needed. Over the intervening two years, I have been carefully sourcing vegan and environmentally friendly supplies - paint, paper, brushes, pencils and inks - wherever I can.
You can find my supplies in the ART RESOURCES section of the website, and links for where to buy them.
EACH PAINTING IS
Made with 98% vegan supplies
For each sale, 5% of the profit goes to local wildlife charities
Where possible all packaging is recycled, and/or compostable and recylable.
ART FOR WILDLIFE 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 at in our time, on our watch. And yet this is happening.
Even here, in the Lake District where I live - a national park and a world heritage sight - habitats are being degraded and animals, birds and insects all show signs of struggle.
Can a painting change this?
I really don't know, but I am willing to try. There is a deep longing in me to speak for and invoke a loving stewardship for the land we inhabit, and the creatures we co-habit with.
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 and a blessing.
It is my hope that each painting helps to keep this wild, beautiful world at the forefront of our mind, rather than in the background.