3 Questions for Rachel

What was your process for creating this work?

I like layering paint onto the paper — I create a more abstract background painting, then add the images on top of that. It creates a bit of randomness in the process and adds mysterious shades and lines. I let each layer linger like an echo for the eye.

What is the significance of the medium you chose?

I love paper and acrylic simply because it dries fast and I am incredibly impatient.

What is the significance of this work to you?

I'm a novelist with several books in print, so that has been my main creative outlet for most of my life. But lately I've returned to painting. When I paint, I still think of myself as telling a story — usually a mysterious one. My paintings often discuss the natural world as a living, embodied creature — beyond our understanding — noticing us, observing us but not really too concerned about our troubles.

Rachel Coyne is a writer and painter from Lindstrom, MN.