Rachel Dyck

I love creating work that captures a feeling of nostalgia and whimsy through landscapes, characters in places, and ordinary objects observed in day-to-day life! I am often inspired by Studio Ghibli films and 20th century children’s book illustrations, and I strive to draw images that will encourage the viewer’s imagination and challenge them to see beauty in the seemingly ordinary things of life. 

Landscape scenes from Calgary (and other places around Alberta) have recently been one of my favourite drawing subjects, since they remind me of my childhood growing up near the city’s Southeast edge. The experiences of seeing the golden prairies towards the east, gazing at blue skies with monumental cumulonimbus clouds, and hearing the wind rustling in the tall grass have been formational in both my life and artwork. To some, the flatness of the Prairies signifies boredom. But to me, everything that seems “boring” has the potential to be beautiful in its own way, and even to be part of an interesting story! 

Graphite pencil illustrations are made using a regular 0.7mm mechanical pencil – often my tool of choice due to its simplicity.  Another part of my process is the addition of digital colour – which combined with these original graphite pencil drawings has become my quintessential method of creating illustrations! The unique visual texture of pencil on paper carries over to the final digital piece, creating a hybrid of “traditional art” and “digital art” which I really enjoy! 

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