About

My painting practice engages with observation of quiet spaces while offering introspection through the act of painting the mundane. I emphasize the quietude of domestic spaces through the arrangement of objects, and carful compositional decisions, focusing specifically on color harmonies and compositional equilibrium, creating visual calm and clarity as I engage with my surroundings. Still life for me, is a way to live inside moments of peace as a refuge from today’s complex and busy world. I use objects to fill a personal void, as well as to create quiet intimate spaces where warmth and comfort are in abundance. I also use color as a way to design a well balanced image that reflects a warm presence to counter the cold feelings in today’s society. Still life is the core of my painting practice, because for me is a way to facilitate comfort and connection, looking at the everyday object and making it worth looking at. My work also focuses on texture, as I carefully carving out intimate close-up spaces in my paintings, often times playing with perception of space. I use oil paint on linen to reference the long lineage of painting in art history, and to continue the conversation into contemporary painting. Through my work, I attempt to capture my real observational experiences and fuse them with imagined environments I find pleasing, while evoking a sense of peaceful calm within my paintings.



Rachel Hertz is a contemporary still life painter based in London. Working primarily with oil paint, her work combines observation with intuitive compositional set ups to give a sense of peace and a feeling of warmth to counter the busy and hectic world of today. Inspired by domestic life, Rachel uses fruits, flowers, and objects as the centre of her work as she carves out specific spiritual moments that portray a sense of calm compassion interplaying with her interest in colour and light.


Rachel received a Certificate of Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, a BFA from the University of Pennsylvania, and a MA from City & Guilds London Art School. She has also received technical training from the Jerusalem Studio School and has participated in group shows in the US, Italy, and most recently in the UK. She is at present creating a new body of work that continues to explore more deeply the intricacies of the geometry in form, and texture, and their roles in her compositions. Rachel is a native New York American who has spent countless years studying painting in several countries, and her work is included in private collections in the US and UK.