About / CV
Rachael Addis (b. 1977) is a contemporary painter based at Rogue Artists’ Studios in Manchester.
Rachael completed a Postgraduate Diploma at the Royal Academy Schools, London, and has exhibited nationally and internationally for over 20 years. Her commissions include an eight-metre mural at the entrance to Manchester’s Co-op Live arena, large-scale works for Six Senses Hotel London, and paintings for the Joyce Wang Suite at The Whitley Hotel. Her work is held in prestigious collections including Harrods VIP Lounge, KPMG and The OWO Hotel, and she has collaborated with clients such as Madri Beer. Her paintings have also been featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Flux Magazine. In 2020, Rachael appeared as a featured artist in the BBC documentary on the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
Having spent her formative years between the Lake District and Asia, Rachael continues to draw inspiration from both landscapes and cultures. These influences are reflected in her intuitive painting process, distinctive colour palettes and layered abstract compositions.
Alongside her studio practice, Rachael is a qualified Art and Design teacher with over 20 years’ experience. She is Artist in Residence at Delamere School, specialising in creative practice with children and young people with special educational needs, where she has developed a reputation as a leading practitioner in inclusive arts education.
Artist Statement
Materiality sits at the heart of my practice, shaping process and mark-making. My paintings are built through layered applications of acrylic, spray paint, and drawn interventions made using found tools, paint pens, and everyday objects rather than traditional brushes. These materials leave visible traces of pressure, repetition, and movement, recording the physical act of making as much as the image itself.
My process is both meditative and compulsive. Through sustained, repetitive gestures, painting becomes an immersive dialogue between hand, material, and surface, pushing me physically and mentally while allowing each work to evolve slowly. Each piece gradually emerging after prolonged, focussed, engagement rather than from predetermined outcomes.
Having spent my formative years between the Lake District and Asia, I continue to draw inspiration from the landscapes, cultures, and sensory experiences of both places. Botanical forms, shifting environments, and memories of place permeate the work, informing a visual language that moves between abstraction and landscape.
These processes began as a healing act following the loss of my sister who was a landscape architect. I started painting in her garden to work through my loss, in her environment - a contemplative place to pause for thought and connected to her and our nomadic upbringing.
My focus on making visually beautiful work with underlying backstories has continued in recent landscape work that has emerged through listening to harrowing stories of refugees fleeing through beautiful terrains to escape the traumas of their home countries.
Whether working en plein air or in the studio, my practice remains deeply connected to observation, movement, and the rhythms of the natural world. Time, memory, and place pulse quietly beneath the painted surface, creating atmospheric works that balance instinct with intention and invite contemplation, connection, and presence.
"The layers of an artwork are an ecology of memory”
Hélia Marçal
Rachael’s CV
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Royal Academy Schools, London – Postgraduate Diploma, Fine Art (1999–2002)
Manchester Metropolitan University – PGCE Art & Design (2004)
Manchester Metropolitan University – BA (Hons) Fine Art Painting, 2:1 (1994)
Artist in Residence, Loughborough University (2002–03). Professional Development: Complete Printmaker (Hot Bed Press, 2023); Play Therapy Training (2023); Enterprising You Business Programme.
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Self-Employed Artist (2020–Present)
Artist in Residence, Delamere SEN School, Trafford (Current) Responsible for leading the school’s visual arts and creative therapy programme (2 days per week).
Previous roles include:
Course Leader, BA (Hons) Contemporary Art Practice, UCEN Manchester (2014–22)
Art & Design Tutor, The Manchester College (2007–22)
Fine Art Tutor, University of Bolton (2021–22)
Course Leader, Foundation Art & Design, The Manchester College (2007–14)
Course Leader, A Level & GCSE Art, City College Manchester (2005–07)
Art & Design Tutor, Bury College (2004–06)
Fine Art Tutor, Loughborough University (2002–03)
Visiting Artist at Manchester Metropolitan University, Moray College and Macclesfield College
Additional experience
Artist mentor
Workshop leader (painting, life drawing, creative wellbeing and play therapy)
Public speaker, artist talks and interviews Skills
Contemporary painting and large-scale commissions
Teaching and curriculum leadership (HE, FE & SEN)
Workshop facilitation and mentoring
Creative wellbeing
Inclusive arts practice with children with SEN
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Commissions include an eight-metre mural at the entrance to Manchester’s Co-op Live arena, large-scale works for Six Senses Hotel London, and paintings for the Joyce Wang Suite at The Whitley Hotel. 3 large scale works Artfeed, Dubai. Work is held in prestigious collections including Harrods VIP Lounge, KPMG and The OWO Hotel, and she has collaborated with clients such as Madri Beer. Her paintings have also been featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Flux Magazine. In 2020, Rachael appeared as a featured artist in the BBC documentary on the Royal Academy Summer.
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Ken Billany Prize, Manchester Metropolitan University, 1999
Loughborough University, Residence Award, 2004
Gemini Art Prize People’s Choice Winner 2021
Shortlisted Artist Jackson Painting Prize 2021, 2023
Manchester Artist of the Year, Cotton Mcr, 2021
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, selected Artist for Documentary Feature, 2022
Awarded Arts Council DYCP Grant, 2022
Royal Academy Schools, Alumni Member
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2026
Lowry Hotel, Solo Exhibition
Connect 2, An exhibition of work with Mikk Murray and Rachael Addis, Rogue Artist Studios, Project Space
Proceed with Caution, Rogue Artists’ Studios, Curated by Gaynor Sevlle
2025
The Other Art Fair, London
A Small Space, Silk Museum , Macclesfield
Six Senses Hotel Commissioned work,
Artfeed, Dubai, commissioned work
MCD, An exhibition of Meditative Drawings
Rogue Women 5
2024
Northern-Scapes Gallery, New Work, Rachael Addis Paints
Commission Co-op Live Music Arena, Mural
Co-operative member, Northern-Scapes Gallery, Manchester
Home Manchester, Open Call, Selected Artist, Artiq, London
Small Space, co-operative exhibition of Small works, Sq Ft, London
Small Space on Tour, co-operative exhibition of Small works, Tat Art Space, Bali, Indonesia
2023
Exhibition Mcr, Solo Exhibition,
Madri Flags by Rachael Addis, Viva Espania, Ost House Performance Space
Edgelessness, Group Show, Mura ma Art Gallery,
Generous Space 3, selected Artist, Huddersfield Art Gallery
Commeca Art, Anniversary group show
Lowry hotel, Bravo, Exhibition with ex Armed Service Personnel
“A Small Space” Group exhibition Stockport and London
Mcr Art Fair, Participating Artist
Artiq London, participating Artist
Blue & Berry Art Gallery, group exhibition
Goosfest, Goostrey, Participating Artist and Workshop Leader
“Rogue Women”, Group Show, Rogue Artist Studios.
2022
Let Go & Flow, Solo Exhibition, Inch Arts, Altrincham
Solo Exhibition Lowry Hotel, Comme Ca Art,ManchesterA Generous Space 2, Participating Artist, The New Gallery Walsall
Art Battle Manchester, Freight Island, Participating Artist, Spring Cheltenham, Group Exhibition
Tarpey Gallery, Open Exhibition,
Material Source, Manchester, Group Exhibition,
Harley Open, Harley Gallery
Corgi trail, Altrincham selected Artist
Mcr Art Fair, Participating Artist
Chester Art Fair with Fronteer Art Gallery, Participating Artist.
2021
“Connect”, a performance with Company Chameleon in response to “Marbellous” an Installation Painting, Rogue Project Space, Dec 2021.
Art Battle Manchester, Solo Pop Up Exhibition
Halle St Peters, Manchester Artist of the Year Solo Exhibition
“Connect”, 2-person exhibition with Mikk Murray, Rogue Artist Studios Project Space; In Manchester, Saul Hay Art Gallery,
Gemini Art Prize Exhibition, people’s Choice Winner, London
Sky Landscape Artist of the Year, Wild card contestant
Imelia Hotel, Group Exhibition,
“Music”, paintings in response to music, Kings Street Gallery, Lancaster
Group Exhibition Comme Ca Art.
2020
Rachael Addis Paints, New work, Rogue Artist Studios project Space
Featured Artist, BBC Programme about the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Rogue Women, Rogue Artist Studios.
Ing Discerning Eye selected Artist.
Jackson Painting Prize, Shortlisted Artist
