Cynthia laying down

Cynthia Laying Down

Piece description from the artist

Cynthia Laying Down was a little journey for me. I had only painted images of pinecones for over a year when I found this branch laying in the snow one January day. I was talking regular morning walks at that point, my seasonal employment at the farm was over for the year and I hadn't yet found more work. My morning walks kept me sane. But there she was, Wet with snow. Honestly, the color again, excited me the most and I took this branch home and propped her up in my studio. I started drawing, exploring angles, discovering legs. Eventually I decided it would be beautiful on wood my grandfather had saved before his death in '10, he was a woodworker, builder, and he never threw things away. I thanked him and painted Cynthia's portrait first here.

Other works by Rachel Nelson

About Rachel Nelson

Cambridge, MA

Rachel Aurora received her B.A. in Studio Art and Environmental Studies from Middlebury College (2018) and currently lives and works in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Her debut solo exhibition, “A Second Look: Pinecones and Birch through Portraiture” opened in her hometown of Claremont, NH in April 2019 in the John D. Bennett Atrium Gallery of the Claremont Opera House. Her paintings have also been featured in the 26th Annual Student Show of the Copley Society of Art, Boston, MA and the Intercollegiate Regional of the The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy NY.

While at Middlebury, her work was published in The Birch at Columbia University and in Blackbird Student Magazine at Middlebury College. She conducted several group exhibitions at Middlebury on topics ranging from feminism and science to human ecology.

She has an avid interest in food systems reform, ecological justice and healing, and regenerative agriculture.

See Rachel's portfolio here
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