Rachel Hannan

“Being in the landscape is like being in love. I am drawn to its power, glory and terror, in the hope that I can hold it forever, but it won't be captured. It's a wild thing. This is what I try to relive in my paintings; the exhilaration of uncertainty and surprise, the freedom of the unknown”. Powerful and passionate words from Blue Mountains artist Rachel Hannan. Rachel searches out landscapes that thrill her. Whether walking, scrambling, running, canoeing, biking, or driving; she loves the anticipation of the surprise that may await around each bend. Rachel paints the vastness and intimacy of dramatic cliffs and simplistic plains - wherever there exists an energy, some rhythm, a breeze, a storm, some inviting movement. The interplay of active skies and static forms, and the surfaces that dance in between create a tension that Rachel likes to play with. Rachel says she tries to bring the elation and ecstasy that she feels personally in the landscape back to the studio, reliving and forming it into a painting with loose painterly strokes and layers. And the brilliance of masterful colour combinations connect our own emotional attachment to landscape. The paintings are pure poetry. After completing her Fine Arts Degree at Newcastle University in 1992 with a High Distinction in Painting Rachel directed her energies towards the performing arts where she began her successful career as a jazz vocalist and recording artist and has been teaching vocals since 1996.