Discover the Winning Masterpiece
Banff National Park, Canada
Rachel Gering
Artist Locale: Oregon, United States
Subject Matter: Landscapes
Medium: Acrylic
About this Piece: Traveling can be a great way to relieve life’s stresses. However, taking trips can be challenging for many people who have a disability. When Covid started, I decided to use my landscape painting practice as a visual coping mechanism for my traumatic brain injury. The paintings I created became my own trips around the world from home. I explored places I love to travel to, places I hope to visit someday, and forms of transportation I would struggle taking now. Banff National Park is a dream trip of mine, and while I am uncertain of when I will get to see it in person, this painting allowed me to experience its beauty from my studio.
One of the many things I noticed while creating landscape paintings was that the escape ended once the lights turned off. When you visit new places, you get to see landscapes both during the day and at night. This dilemma piqued my interest and led me to explore luminescent materials to allow the painting escape to last in the dark. In my work, I use acrylic paint and strontium aluminate powder to create the illusion of night and day, giving my paintings as much life as possible. When the lights go out on the Banff National Park, Canada painting the sky turns into a captivating starscape.
Artist Statement: From my earliest memories, painting has been my steadfast companion—an enchanting medium that transforms my world and imagination into magic on a flat surface. At fifteen, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) altered the course of my life, but painting remained the blessing I didn’t have to let go of. It not only enhanced my quality of life, but also became my means of coping, a method of travel, and an escape.
In my practice, I love crafting landscapes that serve as windows to distant destinations. Some illustrate places I’ve been privileged to visit, capturing precious memories, while others showcase destinations I aspire to explore in the future. Through my paintings, I travel beyond my personal limitations, inviting others to join me on this visual adventure, offering a respite from life’s stresses.
Art becomes a universal passport, allowing us to explore and connect, pushing past the boundaries of disability or busy lives. I enjoy using a variety of materials, besides acrylic paint such as oil paint, chalk pastels, and watercolors. One of my many joys is sharing and brightening up homes with art and capturing other people’s journeys through commissions. My hope is that, through my art, others may find a similar avenue for exploration and escape, reminding them of their own travels and aspirations.
Artist Bio
Rachel Gering is a passionate painter based in Portland, OR known for her evocative explorations of travel and memory. Graduating Summa Cum Laude with a BFA in painting from Willamette University | PNCA in 2022, Rachel’s artistic journey has been defined by a lifelong fascination with the interplay of science and art. From a young age, Rachel found solace in painting, and it has since become an instrumental means of self-expression and healing, especially following a traumatic brain injury. Through her art, she travels to places she hopes to visit someday, and captures places she has explored in person. Gering employs a versatile array of materials, including oil, acrylics, watercolor, glow in the dark pigments, and pastels.
In addition to her creative endeavors, Gering shares her passion for art as a part-time art educator at One River School of Art and Design. Furthermore, she runs a YouTube channel providing free art education to the general public, guiding and inspiring aspiring artists on their own creative paths.