Rachael Padilla

On the Easel

Progress can go slow when creating this kind of busy background. My brush strokes have largely consisted of tiny hairlike marks to represent the tangles of branches.

Not a Stereotype

As a self portrait artist, I’m striving to have a deeper understanding and articulation of the art I create.So I've been reading a book called “Seeing Ourselves Women's Self Portraits” by Thames and Hudson. it delves deep into the nature of self-portraiture as created by women throughout art history. I read an excerpt from the book to accompany this act of self portraiture.

The juxtaposition of the excerpt with this footage makes me smile. I’m not the stereotypical arti...

On the Easel

Today's progress is springing forward with spring, just like everything else in my world.

Tuesday Update

Happy Tuesday! Things are looking really beautiful in my part of the world!

https://vimeo.com/812599742/c045f65ca0

Instant Film: finding Zen

This is a collection of 5 days of selfies in instant film.

I began with what was in the camera, which was black and white. When it was out, I loaded color film.

I’ve expressed before how much I love analog stuff. The instant camera is no exception. I love having something tangible to hold. It makes the memories of the days I took these so real. More so than a digital picture of the same thing. If that makes any sense!

Day one, the weather had just started warming up agai...

Test GIF!

It looks like I can post GIFs now.  I haven't had much luck with posting photos so I'm doing a little test.  I hope this works!  

Some beautiful street art!

I took the time to film a little bit while checkout out one of my favorite street art spots in Atlanta!  It was a warm and lovely day that made me forget all about the cold days in the recent past.  It's such a fantastic collection of great art, and everyone that was out was really enjoying the day. 

https://vimeo.com/811132245/68299c8fe7

Sneak Peek: A Collection of Improvising Exercises

It would be easy to refer to this book simply as what the front cover says it is, but it's so much more! 

This book is the most recent from artist and game maker Tim Hutchings. He's made such games as Thousand Year Old Vampire, and Apollo 47. Which are anything but typical, traditional games. His games broaden the horizons of imagination! 

I was pretty excited to try this one. The prompts for this game/book set forth the premise that I'm living in a beach hut. The very f...

Trying on my tank tops.

I wanted to showcase the tops that I made in my most recent YouTube video.  I tried them all in an effort to see how many funny looks I'd end up getting at the skate park.  Most of them performed well at keeping my nipples covered in a full range of motion.  I think that the green Etnies one may need to be reserved for days when the park is pretty deserted.  

https://vimeo.com/811642271/95bd18...

Train Yard

It was finally a warm day following a bunch of cold ones! I think from here, Spring will safely and quickly move into Summer. 

A missed turn led me to this train yard. It was too unique a spot to not have a walk. It shows the layers of the city through time and space. With the old industrial buildings that now hold high end apartments and lofts, the train tracks that would have been laid after the Civil War, and the overpass that is so much more modern than the rest of the setting....

Surf Skate

I am so excited! This surf skate marks a new set of goals. 

I'll be posting regular updates of my progress, which won't always be on the safety of a grassy lawn! 

Stay tuned for more!

https://vimeo.com/811092730/a0b0b2ab9f

Today…

A gesture drawing. Working on a bit of variety with these. With the challenge being incorporating a variety of hand gestures.

In addition, talking selfies. But not in the typical digital way! These were taken with an instant camera. One from yesterday, and one from today. Today’s photo features the contents of a very exciting parcel! A surf skate. I’ll be filling you in on that soon!

Tuesday Update!

I hope you're having a great week! Here's what's up with me.

Behind the Scenes

A behind the scenes look as I work with clay making plates!

A Poem in the Sunshine

Spring had such a glorious start a few weeks ago. Lately, though, the sunshine and warmth are hard to come by!

Between rain and cold I caught a sunny afternoon for a poetry reading. This is "The Country" by Billy Collins. 

In Progress

Working indoors today. It's cold and rainy outside.

I made some progress on the next two plates. They're inspired by the loveliness of the peach blossoms. Which, despite the cold, are still hanging on! The last photo is of the peach blossoms, photographed at the time of this post!

There are two other plates with a similar pattern, currently awaiting a firing with their glaze in "Norse Blue".

Creating Today's Gesture Drawing

A "behind the scenes" look at today's drawing!

On the Easel

As I continue to practice gestural drawings in the mirror, I try to think of new poses to draw. Doing this is such a way is self limiting. It occurred to me today that the key to greater variety is within what I do with my free hand. It also occurred to me that it's a great focus for the drawings. The hands are more of a challenge to draw. They're small and detailed. Expect more work with hands!

Field Test

This is a field test. While I want my tank tops to be loose, breezy,  with a lot of room for movement, I also want to test my range of motion. As it happens, it seemed that a couple of round offs and somersaults were in order!

That second somersault took a little bit more than I expected, and I had to stop and rest for just a minute. All is well though! 

https://vimeo.com/808490881/03aa9d4d2f<...

New Tops for Summer

In progress...

It is almost summer. Even though the weather dropped down to below freezing the last couple of nights, my mind has been in the mode of the upcoming season. As I've prepared for summer, I've been lifting a lot of weights and doing a lot of arm exercises. I've also been preoccupied with practicing on my land surfing. There's a whole vibe involved in surfing and skating. In an effort to tap into that, I thought it would be cool to create shirts that allow room for breathing ...

Tuesday Update

I hope your week is going well!

Tank Top Resurrection

What I've been up to today!

https://vimeo.com/807724628/85b31659d9

Banana

Not much to see here. Just eatin' a banana!

https://vimeo.com/807140606/c363c2bcac

Pizza Break

A pizza break is so typical for gaming. I've found that it's also a necessity for editing. 

This is another peek at what I've been working on this week.

https://vimeo.com/806956768/8c7da2f85a

I finally get it

Exploring the artistry of 8 bit art and video games. I think I finally get it. 

Sneak Peek

A sneak peek at a video I'm working on for YouTube.

With a whole lot of footage already shot, there's still so much more to do! Shown here are just a few components. It includes footage of an old Game Boy commercial, overhead shots, and closeup shots. 

I can't say enough how important it is for me to remember to play, it maintains an aspect of childlike wonder that I really want to cultivate. It's also super important to me to acknowledge and appreciate all types of artforms....

Tuesday Update!

This Tuesday's update while I was out for a walk with Dog this morning!

https://vimeo.com/805650830/92eb507c44

Making Pottery Inspired by Nature

Pottery these last few weeks has given me a variety in my art making. I always welcome a new way of creativity or creation, it allows me to feel like I'm exploring mediums rather than getting stuck in just one. But as I often do, I have a tendency to get lost in the process rather than thinking of a desired outcome. For these plates though, made out of quarter inch rolled slab, I wanted a goal. It was the lovely Spring weather that ultimately inspired me. What kind of functional Pottery would...

Behind the Scenes

A behind the scenes look at the process of making charcoal. 

There is a lot of footage that doesn't get included in the final edit of a YouTube video. I always record an excess of what I might need and the reality is that no one wants to watch an hour of charcoal being created over an open flame. The other reality with this particular footage is that it was almost 80° outside that day and the heat coming off of the fire made it even hotter. There are two obvious reasons why this f...

This Week's YouTube Video

Yay! The charcoal making video is done and up on YouTube!