Rachel Stavrowsky Hurst

Rachel is the eighth and youngest child of famed western artist Oleg Stavrowsky and her beloved mother, Carol Stavrowsky. Growing up, she was surrounded by world-class art created by her father and siblings. In this way, she was lucky to be trained in the principals of good painting design and technique through exposure.  

Rachel mostly incorporates two of her favorite things into her compositions: animals & color.  She sometimes utilizes abstract backgrounds to represent the emotions she feels when looking at the animal.

“Much of my work incorporates an abstract background juxtaposed with a representational animal.  I like the contrast of the two styles and I think it brings a dynamic to a painting that a traditional background doesn’t.  However, my style is definitely still evolving and I find strict representation an exciting challange as well. I want to keep growing and incorporating what interests me.”

Rachel grew up in Austin, Texas and earned a BA in Psychology from the University of Washington. No stranger to competition, she spent her childhood devoted to competitive figure skating, she holds a national 8-ball title, and she won a tournament qualifying her to play on the World Series of Poker (where she was summarily kicked to the curb... you can’t win ‘em all!). She also formerly competed on the Women’s Professional Billiard Association Tour.

Rachel is known for her pet portraits & wildlife artwork, and she donates 10% of all of her art sale profits to animal charities.  