Rachel Hurst
Artist Biography
Rachel is the eighth and youngest child of famed western artist Oleg Stavrowsky and her beloved mother, Carol Stavrowsky. Growing up, she was surrounded by world-class art created by her father and siblings. In this way, she was lucky to be trained in the principals of good painting design and technique through exposure.
She won her first art contest in 3rd grade but put art aside and didn’t pick it up again until her early 30s when she found her way into a career as a muralist. Rachel owned a very successful decorative painting company for 14 years, making her living painting enormous decorative ceiling and wall murals in the Italian fresco style.
After hanging up her brushes for a couple of years to focus on some other areas of her life, Rachel recently found her way back to her studio and began discovering her passion for fine art, incorporating two of her favorite things: animals & colors. She utilizes her backgrounds to frame the animals in the way she feels when she looks at them.
“Much of my work incorporates an abstract background juxtaposed with a representational animal. I like the contrast of the two styles and I think it brings a dynamic to a painting that a traditional background doesn’t. However, I’ve been painting fine art for a relatively short amount of time, so my style is definitely still evolving. I want to keep growing and incorporating what interests me.”
She believes that art should be accessible for everyone, and should be a part of every home, no matter the socio-economic status: “When I see homes with bare walls it makes me want to run in there and put up some colorful paintings. Art brings an incredible life to a room. You don’t have to spend the money for originals—there are a lot of options for really good reproductions at very affordable prices. Just hanging some artwork in a home can completely change the atmosphere and make it feel like a living, supportive, comfortable space.”
Rachel grew up in Austin, Texas and earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Washington. No stranger to competition, she spent her childhood devoted to competitive figure skating, she holds a national 8-ball title, and she won a tournament qualifying her to play on the World Series of Poker (where she was summarily kicked to the curb... you can’t win ‘em all!). She also formerly competed on the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Tour.
Rachel is known for her pet portraits & wildlife artwork, and she donates 10% of all of her art sale profits to animal charities.
