Rebecca Rath: Hawkesbury

Rebecca Rath lives with her family on a vineyard in Pokolbin, NSW, Australia. While an academic with a strong philosophical bent, ideally, she wants nothing more than for others to experience the joy of art and nature. Working straight from nature and en plein air from her bush studio enables her to fully capture her love of the Hunter Valley landscape.

“My studio work is heavy in impasto paint and demonstrates my passion for both the landscape and the act of painting itself. Over time, my work has evolved toward a technique of luscious thick paint, evoking a skin-like sensation. This application is intentional, for me it speaks about humanity’s place within our environment. The Australian environment isn’t gentle or soft, it is passionate and at times harsh with fires, drought, and floods. Due to where I live, I experience this every day. My work seeks to demonstrate the union of paint application and emotional connection using contemporary painting techniques. I want to push the ideas of paint and create a visceral and tactile sensation for the viewer. I want the viewer to crave touching the paint, like they are touching the landscape.” Rebecca Rath