Rachel by Chanelle Chambers in Lake Coogee

Rachel loves the colours of the sea, pinks, coral, burnt orange, banksias flowers and irises, bush walks, and wine! I fit all these (odd, haha - who would've thought banksias could go with irises?) little pieces together by using reference pictures my client supplies me and add all their favourite elements in layers like a collage, weaving them together to make a one-off pattern. This creates my base outline that I colour in and build up on, by creating texture (or leaving parts of the canvas entirely) applying acrylics with a brush and a palette knife. I bring in the various types of mixed media to compliment the vibe of the portrait, depending on the person's personality traits and likes. For "Rachel", this is where the wine came in 🍷 She "loves a tibble"! I couldn't not include it so I nervously placed a few red wine rim stains in the bottom right hand corner along with some wine droplets. She also loves watercolours so I brought the irises in using a wet on wet technique. "I love my portrait, I can't believe how much it looks like me. I can't wait to hang it up - and I won't feel vein doing it because it's not posey at all" ~ Rachel