About

Rebecca taking advantage of a beautiful day to paint a sunset on an old wooden box.

Rebecca, oil painter of nature in high definition.

Rebecca Alexander is a lover of nature who, through careful observation and study of her subjects, strives to recreate their essence in realistic detail. Her style involves both a highly technical component and a more whimsical, impressionistic component.

Her wildlife creations are built from the ground up after very carefully studying the real thing. Each animal starts with a correct underlying skeletal structure; she builds her subjects from the ground up, taking into account how muscle interacts with bone, skin lays over muscle, and the texture and colors added by the fur, feather, or scales. It is a time-consuming process, but it leads to a more thorough understanding of the individual subject and a painting which leaves nothing feeling a bit “off.”

While great care is given to technical correctness in animal anatomy, Rebecca loves to occasionally brighten or bolden colors which really do produce a stunning effect when looked at closely, but, perhaps, often get overlooked. Have you ever taken a moment to appreciate the intense, warm glow the setting sun can impart to the aged wood of an old building? Or how the golden light of magic hour highlights the subtle, multi-colored pattern in a deer’s coat?

Equal measure is given to the other elements as well. The trees receive no less love than the deer, for example. Background is pushed into greater focus than a photo allows. It becomes more like when you stand in nature, and allow your eye to focus on one thing, or another. These paintings are meant to be observed at length.

If it wasn’t clear yet, Rebecca is also a lover of anatomy. She holds a 4 year bachelor of arts degree in biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris. She has continued her education by spending many hours studying to learn the underlying structure of her subjects, that an understanding might be reached as to why the light hits that deer’s shoulder in such a manner, or why the leg bends a certain way. This is done through a combination of extensive observation, hours upon hours spent in nature, studying skeletal and taxidermy specimens, and much perusing through her personal library of anatomy books. There are a multitude of hours of study and preparation behind each painting.

Also behind each painting are hundreds of photographs. Only her own will do. This makes not only the vision, but the references, all her own, and not shared by another photographer or artist. This also allows her to really get to know her subjects. She desires to thoroughly understand what she is painting. She prefers to not just emulate what she sees, but understand why it looks that way, and what it would look like from other angles.

Rebecca has been practicing her art since she was two years old and could hold a crayon. The love has never died. She eventually took Studio Art as a second major (BA) at the University of MN, Morris, graduating in 2007. It took about another decade after that, but she finally felt ready to take the step in pushing her art into the professional direction.

Her preferred medium these days is oil paint on Gessoboard, though she dabbles in acrylic painting, pencil, and digital drawing. The majority of each painting is created with the use of a 20/0 size calligraphy brush, and sometimes even a single horse-hair brush for those extra fine details. It might take twenty or so brushes to complete a painting, as the tips eventually wear to the point where they are not fine enough to create the details she demands of them.

Rebecca currently lives in Southern Minnesota, and many of her paintings reflect that, though it is definitely not a restriction. Through the magic of roadtrips and camping her library of natural beauty inspiration is ever expanding.