I’m an illustrator and picture pilgrim.
Hello, my name is Rachel Eleanor. For me, drawing is a form of meditation and pictures are a path of pilgrimage, a way to pencil myself into distant lands in search of deeper connectedness and meaning. Illustration is a spiritual practice in constructing a personal mythology, creating a cast of characters to send out on quests exploring the wilderness within and without. Delight & Disarm is my motto, and I hope my pictures, like friendly companions, help you on your own journey into the great wide world.
Themes
Crowding my mind are these ideas about hope and despair, tradition and change, and my own place in speaking dreams over this world we live in.
I’m drawn to illustrating parades, crowds and marching caravans all filled with whacky people and creatures, blurring boundaries inherent to gender, species and background.
Pleasant hustle, bustle and merrymaking are the order of the day in my personal mythology, along with the occasional pilgrimage and quest. The dragons my characters slay being inner demons, not personal problems projected onto strangers we choose to make the enemy. I love the thought of a world in which the characters continue to grow more diverse, varied and faceted, with wild permutations waiting to be lived out in each new life. I see it as an indicator of human flourishing.
Press
“The illustrations of Atlanta-based artist Rachel Eleanor evokes a feeling of being read a bedtime story. Whimsical and line-centric, she pens delightful pictures that swing from folklore to history, legends and mythical creatures: all of them infused with vivid colors and childhood inquisitiveness.”