Boise-based painter, Rachel Teannalach, donated her beautiful oil painting “Regeneration” for our annual Green Tie fundraiser. You can bid on her painting or prints of the painting at our online auction here. Visit our tenth annual Green Tie here to make a donation, watch videos, and more. We asked Rachel to chat with us about her artwork, why she chooses to support CVI, and where else you can find her work.
My name is Rachel Teannalach and I am a landscape painter based in Boise, Idaho. I am originally from Northern New Mexico, where I grew up surrounded by stunning natural beauty. I have followed that beauty along my route in life, ending up in Northern California and then Idaho. I discover places through my painting, and I feel I owe support to those who work to protect these places that have brought me not only joy but enabled my livelihood.
I am at heart a Plein Air painter – I love to paint from direct observation without the middle man of a camera. But for my larger works I do work from photos that I have taken myself, usually after I’ve completed some smaller works on site. Working in the studio helps me take time to digest my experiences of the place, away from the elements and logistics that make large onsite works difficult. I always keep the experience of painting onsite in my heart as I work in the studio.
I support Conservation Voters for Idaho because they do the work to protect the wild places I love. Because, as Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax does, they “speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” Without a presence of conservationists in politics, there would be nobody to speak for the trees in our policy making arenas.
The experience of art and the experience of nature both bring us back to our hearts. My work is guided by the belief that the observation of nature revives our recognition of beauty and restores our sense of belonging in the natural world. I believe that art and nature conservation are can be allies, with art inspiring the heart through beauty while conservationists inspire the mind through science and policy making.
I show my work at Capitol Contemporary Gallery in Boise. Appointments can also be made to view work in my studio. I sell small works and prints on my Etsy shop – www.etsy.com/shop/tinyexpanse. The best way to keep in-the-know is to join my newsletter though my website, www.teannalach.com
I’m currently working on the Confluence Project in collaboration with Advocates for the West (https://www.teannalach-
Follow Rachel on social media:
Instagram – @tinyExpanse
Facebook – Rachel Teannalach Art
Website: www.teannalach.com