Meet Rachel Christopoulos | Acrylic Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rachel Christopoulos and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rachel, what do you attribute your success to?
Being willing to compromise! When I started pursuing art, it was purely for me but when I made the pivot to a small business and creating on a larger scale I realized I needed to make work for my audience too. Finding a compromise between personal work and commercial work takes time and commitment but that’s the secret to art that thrives in the market.

I feel like now I’ve found a good middle ground between what I love and want to paint and what’s being responded to when I share it. I’m still surprised by my audience at times, but being open to changing color palettes and trying familiar subjects in new ways keeps my art (and practice) interesting.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a figurative acrylic artist living and painting in New Glarus, WI. I paint many things, but my work is most recognized for the surprising use of color in my portraits and other subject matters.

It’s hard for me to identify specific things in my own work that sets it apart, but I know that my curiosity and love of word play allows me to try interesting things with my portraits, especially the ones of myself. Some of my favorite work has come from allowing myself to paint without a destination in mind. The end result is often an amusing take on a familiar feeling or state of being.

I have to say, I’m honestly surprised by where I am professionally. I didn’t see any of the amazing things I’ve been able to do on the horizon when I started consistently painting again. I think that a lot of the success I’ve had comes from being consistent, willing to face rejection, and open to opportunities even if they’re different than what I would’ve wanted. And how could I forget, being patient for things to happen!

I’ve learned a lot about myself as an artist and the type of art I want to make. One of my favorite things I’ve uncovered on this journey is a deep passion for helping other creatives find their own path and begin to make things happen for themselves too. The internet has opened up so many doors for artists to thrive and I love being able to share what I’ve learned with them as they create their own opportunities too.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Wisconsin is comprised of a lot of little towns, a few bigger cities, and a lot of woods and fields to explore. I currently live in one of the small, more touristy towns and I love it. First we’d do a tour of the New Glarus Brewery and hopefully catch a festival on the main street. There’s a cheese store (or three) in every town so we’d definitely get samples. If you haven’t been to a Culvers, you would need to go and get a ButterBurger and fried cheese curds.

Have I mentioned we’ll mostly be sampling cheeses this weekend?!

To break up all the eating, we’d head downtown to the capitol city, Madison! There are beautiful lakes to sit at, lots of trails to hike, and lots of coffee shops to sit in while we people watch. There’s a trail of Bucky Badgers that were all painted and placed around the city. It’s really fun to try and find them all.

And if we were really up for an adventure we’d head to Milwaukee and visit the art museum downtown or enjoy a quiet day on the beach at Lake Michigan.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Definitely my dad. While I’m still surprised that my current career is professional artist, I think he always knew I’d do something with my creative inclinations. Even though I don’t think my childhood is littered with creative genius, he was always there willing to purchase any new supplies I was interested in (like my brief stint with airbrushing in high school) and encouraging any artistic pursuit I tried.

He was the one who built me my first studio, b0ught me my first drawing desk, easel, and projector. I think I needed all those gentle, encouraging pushes to feel confident enough to pursue a career in the arts as an adult.

Website: www.rachelsshoppe.com

Instagram: @rachelsshoppe.co