Rachel Karr

Formerly from Nashville, TN, Rachel Karr is now a Philadelphia, PA-based visual artist whose work centers around legacy and conservation. Karr is an avid traveler and enjoys capturing new landscapes with her infrared camera. These images serve as inspiration for her vibrant gouache landscape paintings. By blending reality with fantasy, viewers are prompted to reconsider their impact on the planet and advocate for sustainable practices.

Contact

https://www.rachelkarr.com/
rachel@rachelkarr.com
@nuclearmystic

Interview

What inspires your art practice and keeps you motivated?
Being outdoors is such an inspiration, and I spend as much time trail running and traveling to new places as possible.


How does your mission as an artist influence the work you create?
Examining and improving how we nurture and care for the planet influences how I reinterpret the world for my art. It allows me to see a place as constantly changing and to imagine how it can be shifted into something completely new but still familiar.


Can you share a key part of your creative process that helps you stay focused?
When I’m working on a piece, I keep notes about the process and any ideas that come about that I want to explore further. Instead of immediately trying to push too many things into a current project, I self-edit and cycle back on those ideas in a more methodical way.


What mindset tip do you rely on to overcome challenges in your art career?
Waiting for something is the same as doing nothing. Even if you don’t have an idea or a plan, keep playing with your materials and engage in the world around you. You have to nurture things for them to grow, and creativity works the same way.


How do you hope your art impacts the world or your community?
I hope these alien versions of our own world prompt viewers to recognize how we have become disconnected from our planet and consider our impact and relationship to the environment.