Sunday, March 20, 2022

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: Rainey Rodriguez

A Self-Taught Artist who loves to teach

Artists are known for their amazing skill sets, their dexterity. Most people who are well versed in a specific talent, are not the most capable of articulating how to replicate what they do; Rainey breaks that mold. She revealed in our interview, that she failed out of a painting class in college; which you will find shocking, after seeing how talented she is. How did she become a painter? She watched a movie about French artist, Toulouse Lautrec, + felt inspired to pick up a brush. She described that epiphany + moment as “finding her way home… it was what she was meant to do”.

If you haven’t seen her work, she is mainly known for her Atomic Mid-Century style. She tends to favor Pop-Surealism though. Like the rest of us, Rainey, finds herself on a constant evolution which has lead her to Bio-Romanticisim Surreal. If you don’t know what I am referencing here, you are not alone. Thanks to google, + Rainey submitting some of her favorite pieces, I was able to get closer to understanding the idea.

Rainey Rodriguez, is a Mexican-American painter who has been teaching studio classes that has gathered quite a cult following. She loves to explore different avenues; which is why, I believe, her successes with her students is so prevalent. She doesn’t have a specific start date to her classes. She doesn’t follow a syllabus. She lets you find your passion or subject, + then guides you from there. I was blown away by this concept. In a studio full of aspiring artists + hobbyist(s), she is able to tap in to their dreams + help them find their own voice as an artist. Rainey has definitely found her own niche, a recipe (her words), to teach people how to paint + feel confident in their work. Her humble nature + approach is quite welcoming for those who are a little apprehensive, like myself. In our conversation, Rainey spoke about how harsh a pencil + drawing can be to someone new. She reiterated, how forgiving paint is + how easily it can be shaped, pushed around, manipulated even, + if need be…. corrected.

Ms. Rodriguez has currently pitched to teach a class about Historical color palettes. An insight to this class left me eager to learn more. There’s a historical color called ‘Indian yellow’. This color is described as bright yellow + slightly translucent. The fun, + I might say intriguing part of this color, is that it was primarily made with cow urine. Now, if you’re like me, you need to know more about historical palettes + what else was used to make these colors.

If I haven’t persuaded you to sign up for her classes yet, + you need more of a push to stare at her paintings for a bit longer; let me leave you with this tidbit… Rainey puts secrets in to her paintings. That’s right folks, secrets! I will be right back as I am going to stare at her work, again! You should too!

Need more Rainey?

Hear the whole interview: https://anchor.fm/brianna-woodhouse

Or listen on Apple, Google or Spotify (Podcasts)

Facebook: @housepaintbyrainey