American artist Rachel Li depicts in realistic detail a woman with youthful pale skin facing slightly to the left, her gaze directed off the frame with her bare shoulders and upper body draped with a sheer, green wrap of soft, flowing quality and slight shimmer that appears to possibly be silk or chiffon. Her features are delicate and refined. Her skin appears smooth and flawless, with a natural glow. She has a straight nose, a strong jawline, full lips and thick dark eyebrows subtly arched. Her rich black hair, with highlights that catch the light, is styled in a simple updo, pulled back from her face; however, a few stray strands frame her beauty. The woman's expression is somewhat contemplative and serene plus a hint of melancholy in her eyes. Her lips are slightly pursed, suggesting a thoughtful demeanor while her gaze is steady, giving an air of quiet confidence. Li’s figure paintings and tronie-like portraits reflect both technical mastery and an intriguing depth of character that would make many a Dutch master blush. She currently teaches drawing and painting as a guest artist in the core program at Grand Central Atelier in Queens, New York after graduating from GCA in 2018. “I love teach­ing," she ad­mits. “I was drawn to the Core Pro­gram be­cause they draw from casts with pen­cil and graphite in the first year and I wanted to study that. I didn’t think about oil paint­ing un­til the sec­ond year of the pro­gram which fo­cuses on paint­ing." Now, trained rig­or­ously in clas­si­cal art tra­di­tion, she has avoided the pit­fall of im­i­tat­ing painters from the 19th-cen­tury ate­liers. “Even if I could im­i­tate them," she says, “I wouldn’t want to. I think the colors we use now are dif­fer­ent and we play with paint dif­ferently." Her oil por­traits elicit a feel­ing rather than a nar­ra­tive. “I like to pick a model who has a unique look. I want to paint some­thing very beau­ti­ful—calm, bright, not too dark—that has a feel­ing be­hind it.

“The Silk Wrap” by Rachel Li (American) - Oil on panel / 2021 - New Salem Museum & Academy of Fine Art (Massachusetts) #womeninart #art #oilpainting #rachelli #womanartist #artwork #realism #femaleartist #womenpaintingwomen #NewSalemMuseum #fineart #AmericanArt #realisticart #beauty #AmericanArtist

New York artist #RachelLi, (b. 1995) graduated from #GrandCentralAtelier in 2018 after studying for 4 years, starting with the cast drawing class with Justin Wood on the weekends. She focuses on figure painting and portraiture
and teaches drawing and painting in GCA’s Core Program.