We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rachel Smith a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rachel thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I attended art school where I learned the fundamentals of visual art and design, but most of my skills and knowledge I use on a daily basis simply came from practicing my skills almost every day for the past four years.

I think art school is pretty much the fastest way to educate oneself on the subject. One of my professor’s compared art school to a pressure cooker. We learned skills in four years that most would take ten years to teach themselves. But “pressure” was a huge part of that experience. We would eat, sleep, and breathe art, and we all experienced heavy burnout by the end of it. “Fastest” isn’t always best, but I am grateful that it did enable me to become my own boss earlier in life than most.

Besides muscle memory from practicing brush technique, understanding how to use color theory is invaluable to wedding painters!

The biggest obstacle I have faced, and still face somedays, is the fear of imperfection in my artwork. I have to constantly remind myself that imperfections teach us how to grow, if we are willing to open ourselves up to constructive criticism. And when I don’t hold onto the fear of making mistakes, I tend to make my best work, full of freedom and expression.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

From a young age, I was dead-set on being an illustrator. I have always loved stories, which ties perfectly to my obsession with creative expression. I studied art and design in college, fully intending to find a job as an illustrator once I graduated. Unfortunately, COVID hit about a month before graduation, and halted all of my plans. I ended up needing to get a day job at Trader Joe’s to get by. As much as I liked working there, and even got to assist in making artwork for displays, I knew I wanted to have a full time job as an artist. But the phrase “starving artist” is common for a reason, and I knew that I needed to find a clientele that would be willing to pay for artwork, since many people view art as trivial and cheap. Live wedding painting was the perfect intersection of my love of telling stories via art and my a clientele that was willing to pay what my work is worth.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Stories and human nature are inseparable. I think each of us in some way desire for our lives to be a good stories, with happy endings. Weddings are a huge deal in people’s life stories, so it is an honor to “illustrate” them, almost as if they are characters in a fairytale. My hope is that when they see my painting hanging on their wall, they will be reminded of their love and the happiness of that day, especially when life gets hard and doesn’t feel like a fairytale at all.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

Because of my passion and care for my clients’ wedding celebration, I dedicate myself to working on a painting until it “sings.” Due to this, I really haven’t had to do much in the way of advertising. My work speaks for itself, and when clients inquire about hiring me, I assure them that I will deliver the same level of quality for their special day.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gildedbranchstudio.com/
• Instagram: @gildedbranch_studio

Image Credits
Joel Smith- @joel_smith_photography