Inside the Studio

Visit with Rachel Levit Ruiz

Artist Rachel Levit Ruiz wearing white gloves and smudging charcoal pastel on a drawing of flowers in clouds.

Take a look inside Rachel Levit Ruiz' studio as she creates her new collection of pastel drawings for Art on Paper.

Artist Rachel Levit Ruiz putting up a pastel drawing of a volcano on a white wall in her studio.

A close-up of artist Rachel Levit Ruiz' pastel drawing of a smoky cloud on a body of water.

Five pastel drawings, two figurative and three of nature, by artist Rachel Levit Ruiz installed on a white wall in her studio.

In this collection of pastel drawings on paper, Rachel was inspired by nitrogen as an essential element in all living matter, from the synthesis of cells and proteins in the body to the fertilization of plants, as well as in powerful forces of nature, such as the explosive plume of a volcano.

I often begin new work without any clear intention or purpose. I start by gathering reference material and draw frenetically, following my intuition and then suddenly - certain themes emerge. The power of phenomena, human emotion, and the universality of flora frequently appear in my work.
Rachel Levit Ruiz

Artist Rachel Levit Ruiz using chalk pastel on an orange, figurative drawing installed on a white wall in her studio.

Close-up of a mountain drawing by artist Rachel Levit Ruiz clipped to a white wall in her studio.

A wooden table in artist Rachel Levit Ruiz studio, covered with boxes of pastels and an in-progress drawing of a flower.

I play with likeness and contradictions hoping to find connection. Over time, the images evolve and their meanings become clear. It becomes evident that they were never about the world itself, as it is, but rather about the forces at play inside my own psyche. In this process, I have discovered that the inside and the outside were never separate.
Rachel Levit Ruiz