Rachel Brooks
Is an internationally acclaimed Wildlife Artist and Scientific Illustrator based in the Scottish Highland town of Oban. She specialises in marine wildlife, capturing high levels of intricate detail using ink. Drawing from her extensive background in Zoology, Marine Biology, and the Scuba Industry, she has immersed herself in the field, spending years amidst her fascinating subjects.
Living in world renowned marine environments such as the Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo Reef, the Lembeh Straits and the Coral Triangle. Rachel has gathered inspiration from across the globe which is reflected in the diversity of wildlife found within her work. Rachel now resides in the Scottish Highlands and has spent the past three years working in the Sea of the Hebrides Marine Protected Area with basking sharks. She is an advocate for celebrating the often over looked marine life found in the UK, and for shark conservation. As a story teller, art is her main media, but she is also a photographer, podcast host, speaker and science communicator.
Rachel has been shortlisted for her wildlife photography as well as being shortlisted for her wildlife art in the Wildlife 100 Artist of the Year Award. She has exhibited at London's Royal Geographical Society, the OXO Tower as well as nationally and virtually at the New York Explorers Club. She has been featured by Discovery Channels Shark Week and collaborated with a number of charity partners such as the RSPB and the Shark Trust.
Rachel's mission as an artist is to convey her passion for conserving biodiversity by celebrating its beauty and sharing it with the world.
Media & Publications
As an ocean artist, conservationist, scuba and wildlife guide, Rachel is a passionate storyteller and advocate for our natural world.
Enquiries
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My Story
My journey to founding Rachel Brooks Art was not a straight forward one. I have always loved drawing and painting from a young age, during college this was set to be my only career path. I had already drafted my first university application for an Art course but a summer spent volunteering on a whale and dolphin research project in the Atlantic changed everything! Living with a group of young passionate conservationists really shifted my perspective of the world, I decided that this was exactly where I needed to be. I changed my already written Fine Art application to study a BSc in Zoology at the University of Leeds.
Art was put to one side whilst I was studying and after graduating I couldn't wait to get out and explore the world. I left the UK in 2014 with a one way ticket to India. The vibrancy of India stole my heart and is still one of my favourite places. The colours captured my imagination and inspired me to pick up my camera and a set of crushed petal powder paints. After leaving India I made my way through Indonesia before settling in Australia which was to be my home for the next few years.
I didn't have the fortune of living by the sea growing up in the UK and being on Australia's stunning coastline drew me closer and closer to the ocean. I started a career in the dive industry which allowed me to keep travelling and doing what lit my soul on fire. As a PADI instructor, I worked and lived in places I had only ever dreamed of visiting, from swimming with whale sharks in the Ningaloo Reef to managing a dive centre in a remote island in Sulawesi my adventures have inspired a lot of my creations. Spending 8 years and over 1,300 dives under water I have spent a great deal of time observing my subjects in their environment. I understand their movement, behaviour and minute details in a way I could never have appreciated before.
A new chapter
My new chapter is telling these ocean stories through my art work. Living in the stunning West Highlands, I have the sea on the doorstep and mountains in my back garden. Being immersed in nature constantly refreshes me with ideas of ways to share this incredible planet with you - Thank you for being part of my journey!
