Oakland-based illustrator and graphic designer Rachel Frankel's classical arts background greatly influences her work, which she describes as ranging from tightly-rendered portraits and structures to lush typography, hand-lettering and playful geometric design.
The 27-year-old artist actually entered college as a Music Performance major at Cal State Northridge in Los Angeles, but soon after, she realized that she didn't want to perform in an orchestra after all. So the next semester she made a switch to Illustration, and a year and a half later she transferred to SF State, where she finished out as Painting and Drawing major with an English minor.
I thought about it really hard for a while, and luckily I had saved up enough to get by for a bit, so I took the plunge and I quit my job.
And it's paid off: Rachel now freelances with several individual clients and companies as a graphic designer. She finds it satisfying to have some bleed-over between the things she likes to do and what she does for work. "Obviously my passions tend to lie more in analog illustration, but I'm so new to graphic design that I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity to hone my skills first," she says. When it comes to finding balance between furthering her design skills and drawing for fun, it's a challenge. Rachel says there are things you do for pleasure, and then there are your hobbies—if you tend to take your hobbies seriously, they sometimes feel like work.
I also like following other artists who work outside of my medium, because [it] can really inform your practice, and it's cool to have that separation so you can interpret it in your own way.
Other than switching artistic platforms, it's important to stay inspired. The Internet is one of Rachel's main vehicles of doing that. "I think Instagram's amazing. It's definitely my favorite form of social media these days," she says. "I like peering into what other illustrators are working on, and I also like following other artists who work outside of my medium, because things like photography can really inform your practice, and it's cool to have that separation so you can interpret it in your own way." And even though the vast, global reach of Instagram provides a plethora of inspiration, Rachel says that this year she's trying to go see more art in person at museums.
Rachel is currently working on her biweekly 2015 Alphabet Project, in which she is illustrating each letter of the English alphabet both digitally and in analog format. "It's been a great way to test out new techniques and keep myself fresh," she says. The artist is also presently in a group show at Light Grey Art Lab in Minneapolis.
See more of Rachel's work on her website, speakeasyillustrations.com, and follow her on Instagram @shespeakseasy, Twitter @shespeakseasyy, and Facebook. You can also check out her band Phosphene on Bandcamp and on Facebook.