Art Opening for Rachel Zelinski Underwood

"My goal is to create physical renditions of memories through paintings or illustrations. I want to honor the bodies and faces of those held dear – I have no intention nor desire to “fix” a subject’s appearance. I feel that for me to edit the bodies or faces of those I’m portraying, I would be saying “you would be worthy of being the subject of art if you looked less like yourself.” I fundamentally believe that all bodies are worthy of love, whether it be by friends, family, partners, pets, or even just oneself. I want to create a memento where your first feeling is one of love for the subject.

New Mexico has such a deep history and the sheer variety of people who live here because of that history is a visual blessing to experience – I feel my heart sing when I get to see…