Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
Greetings! My name is Rachel Berkowitz, but you can call me Rachy B.
I am a painter and a fine art photographer and I’ve been living here in Los Angeles for 11 years. I grew up in London, England and I attended UCLA with a BA in Fine Art.
I make art because it is my passion, my healing, my every moment.
When I paint, I meditate with the lines and colors. I make music that heals within every composition. I channel an energy that is only felt when surrounded by nature. My paintings are moments full of emotion and reflect my chaotic mind, trying to organize and be calm. I aim to reach all audiences with my work; accessibility is what I believe makes a piece of artwork successful. The goal is for my audience to interpret my artwork in similar ways one might interpret music without lyrics, such as classical or jazz, in a meditative manner.
My photography, on the other hand, tells stories. Stories that inspire creativity, freedom, love and magic. I capture subjects with a camera to highlight moments full of emotion that may appear candid, but they are purposely set up. Portraiture allows me to tell stories that need detailed real accounts of historical cultural moments in our society.
I enjoy painting commissioned pieces on canvas, and recently completed a project featured on the Netflix show, “Selling Sunsets”, where I painted a series of 12 paintings to match the modern interiors, as well as a large-scale mural. I have painted murals for the city of LA, business establishments and other celebrity clients such as painting the backdrop for Bill Nye the Science Guy’s newest videos.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
What makes me unique is my positive, creatively supportive, energy. There are very few artists that thematically promote positive ideas concerning meditation and strong mindsets.
As well as a practicing painter, I am also an art teacher. I teach art to children in schools that cannot afford arts education, children’s hospitals and I also teach a monthly adult painting class, participants have included celebrities such as Winnie Harlow.
I’m a vibe curator,
A party operator,
A mindful stimulator,
Tell me whats your flavor…
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
This story is wild.
So I’m in a high school art class, probably 9th grade. I’m in my sculpture class, and that lesson we were making structures using chicken wire and paper maché.
At this moment, I was dipping paper into glue and sticking it onto the chicken wire.
I was completely absorbed in creating my sculpture, like the usual keen bean I was with all art classes, and I didn’t notice that my glue was sloshing all around me onto the floor.
All of a sudden I hear a scream and my poor sculpture teacher slips behind me. I felt absolutely dreadful and rushed over to her in panic. She lies on the floor with her eyes closed for a few minutes, moaning. Then her eyes flutter open and she said “Rachel. You are my favorite student. The most expressive sculptor. If you don’t become an artist after almost killing your art teacher, I will have fallen for nothing.”
It was then that I knew that I simply must become an artist.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
My biggest challenge has been my own mentality.
The hardest challenge of following your dreams in a creative field is finding your voice and then being courageous enough to make it heard.
I have suffered many rejections, self-doubt and fears of failure.
I have quit making art so many times because of a weak mindset. I am forever afraid of the judgement I might receive from my audience about my artwork.
I have had so many conversations where someone has asked me “But really, what do you actually do for money?”, after I tell them I am an artist.
Facing those moments with strangers has been an important battle for me to continue creating from my heart.
However, I have learnt that the only way to stay grounded is to mentally remain strong.
My piece of advice is surround yourself with people who exude confidence and aren’t afraid to be true to themselves. By having others around you respect your passion, hype you up and believe in you, that’s how you’ll be reminded to stay true to your visions. Collaboration with colleagues and having artist friends around for support has allowed me to live my life as a full-time artist.
Who are the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could elevate your career or business? Why these specific individuals?
1. Oprah Winfrey – I’d love to paint her a commissioned piece, as well as organize an art auction with her where a percentage of all proceeds goes to a woman’s charity of her choice.
2. Kim Kardashian – I’d love to teach art to her kids. Private children’s art classes are my speciality (see IG: @artwithrachyb). I’d also love to paint her a comissioned piece for her wabi sabi minimalist calabasas home.
3. Snoop Dogg – I really want to photograph snoop in the style of Fairfax Royalty (a photography series I did: https://www.rachelberkowitzart.com/photography#/fairfax-royalty/
Drop your social media links.
Teaching IG: @artwithrachyb
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rachelberkowitzart
Website: www.rachelberkowitzart.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/rachelberkowitzart
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjyoRnMjzyA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link