Rachel brooks: wildlife artist & conservationist
Rachel Brooks rode the wave of her interests and it brought her to a career in wildlife art and conservation.
By Enya McIntyre
What started out as a break from regular life ended up becoming Rachel’s regular life, when a whale and dolphin volunteering programme convinced her to switch her fine art degree to zoology.
“There were a lot of students studying marine biology there and I was just talking to them and thought I really want to do that”, says Rachel.
“I was like okay how do I make this happen so when I got home I had to go into my school during the summer holidays and try and convince my teachers into letting me switch courses”.
Luckily, Rachel was granted the transfer and so her knowledge of zoology as well as a thirst for seeing the world grew.
“I did 2 years of summers at the Atlantic Whale Foundation in Tenerife and a couple of people I met there had started a new project in Sri Lanka so the summer after I went out there for a month and I loved it”.
“I thought what’s the next step from Sri Lanka and thought India so I went there next”, recalls Rachel.
This spontaneous outlook on life became a theme for Rachel. On finishing 3 months backpacking in India with a friend, Rachel headed to Bali.
“Then I ran out of money but I’d met a lot of people who had just come from Australia doing working visas so they told me how easy it was to get jobs there so I figured I was closer to Australia than home anyway so I decided to go there”.
After completing five-months of farmwork in Tasmania, Rachel came across an advert for a divemaster traineeship in Queensland. She applied and got the position!
Here, at the infamous Yongola Shipwreck, Rachel completed the course in the home of some of the ocean’s most prized creatures such as sharks, turtles, barracuda and rays.
“It’s just teeming with wildlife, it’s what all the reefs should be like”.
Rachel went on to work in the dive industry for a number of years, positioned in some of Australia’s and the world’s most breathtaking dive sites such as the Ningaloof reef.
“I worked in the Ningaloof too and that was really special. There’d be manta rays and whale sharks nearly every time you go out. Seeing a whale shark the first time is pretty mindblowing”, says Rachel.
It was a housemate of Rachel’s that originally sparked the idea of selling her art. On returning to the UK after 5 years of working in the dive industry, Rachel set herself up an art studio and the rest is history!
“To start with I was just drawing pretty much anything people paid me to do so a lot of pet portraits and wedding portraits. That started to take up a lot of my time and I found I didn’t have enough time to focus on what I wanted to be doing which was wildlife art”.
“I got to a point where I thought I had to park that and pursue what I actually wanted to do and that’s when it all really took off”, says Rachel.
Rachel Brooks Art is a collection of wildlife drawings done through the medium of ink and watercolour and features a multitude of marine life such as whales, sharks, and rays.
When creating art it was important to Rachel for it to be accessible to everyone.
“Arts prints and things are amazing when you have the space but being someone who has not had a proper home for a while I realise it’s not something everyone can buy and enjoy”.
“I like the idea of art being on lots of different things like on the clothes you wear so everyone can be a part of it”.
Today, Rachel is based in the Scottish Hebrides where she makes art and works in whale conservation.
It’s hardly surprising that her favourite self made piece of work is the ‘John Coe Orca Illustration’:
“I really love the colours and the story means a lot to me. I’ve been in the Hebrides for years and seeing those orcas is just so special because they’re a functionally extinct pod and will be fully extinct in our lifetime and it’s just heartbreaking”.
This piece is set to be on exhibition in London this November so keep your eyes peeled.
For more on Rachel Brooks's Art head to www.rachelbrooksart.com.