Rachael Van Dyke

Growing up in a large Italian family in Grand Rapids MI, where emotions and energy were high, Rachael Van Dyke learned early on to create quickly, to work collaboratively, and to not become too attached to her work. She is most comfortable when away from the tradition of easel and often works on her hands and knees actively engaged with the painting. Van Dyke prefers painting plien air, quickly capturing what she see on the canvas. She is a mid-career artist and an avid traveler with recent art residencies at Cill Rialaig Arts Center in Ireland, in the historic town of Tusa, Sicily with Officina Stamperia del Notaio, and on the remote island of Isle Royale in Lake Superior with the United States National Park Service. Van Dyke’s residencies have also included Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi, Italy, Le Jardin Botanique, in Marnay sur Seine, France, TICA with the Art Institute of Chicago, and Les Tasis located in the Ardeche Valley of Southern France. She is also a Fulbright Memorial Fund teacher recipient to Japan.

Van Dyke has had solo art exhibitions with the Forest Hills Fine Art Center, the Power Center of Performing Arts in Ann Arbor, MI and the University of Michigan Hospital Gifts for Art program. She earned her MAE at the Kendall College of Art and Design and has worked 14 years as an art and design educator for all grade levels including adjunct instructor at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI. Rachael Van Dyke has participated in numerous public presentations and adult workshops including talks on art and creativity, art and the spiritual, and on how space and place influence a body of work.

“Each body of work is influenced by place and I hope tells a story of the people and land that I encountered.”