Interviews with Rachel
2021 Working on "Mere Breath"
2021 Finishing the Sandhills Half Marathon
2025 Working on "Shade in the Desert"
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Rachel Brownlee was raised on a family ranch in western Nebraska. She is a fifth generation rancher, descended from Old Jules Sandoz, subject of the Mari Sandoz books, who originally emigrated from Switzerland. She was home educated with her six siblings. All their cattle work was done horseback and she and her siblings spent most of their life doing ranch work. There was no art education available and Rachel was essentially exposed to no other artwork than some books about equine composition until after college.
She attended college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha obtaining a degree in computer science. Rachel worked as a software engineer in Omaha for two years before returning to the Sandhills of Nebraska with her husband and daughter and son. The family ranch has 1200 cattle. From there comes her inspiration and motivation to document the living west. From a young age everyone commented on Rachel's early talent in drawing. It was a prominently God given gift. In 2019 she felt led to pursue artwork as an occupation after a local librarian encouraged her that her work "was actually quite good". Her first professional show was September 2020 and her first national show was November 2021. Rachel's rocket ship career, going from doing nothing professionally to winning the best of show award at the Mountain Oyster Club Art Sale in one year, is evidence of God's hand over her work. Since then, Rachel's work is represented in five of the nation's best western art galleries. Her work is in 14 shows every year, and has won many awards. Rachel loves gardening, drawing, playing the harp, and running. She ran the Omaha Marathon in 2020, the Sandhills Half Marathon in 2021, the Leading Ladies Half Marathon in 2023, and will run the Maah Daah Hey Badlands Marathon in 2025. 
JHL Ranch Buildings in snow
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