Available Works

All work is available through the artist unless otherwise listed.

For prices contact Rachel at:
402-591-1911
rachel.l.brownlee@gmail.com

Unwanted Hours

23 x 36
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: March 17, 2023

The invisible, unwanted hours of the day, those before dawn usually, provide the foundation upon which much visible success is built. Hardworking people, in agriculture and otherwise, exert their efforts in the dark, using hours that many people don't even know exist or ever have intention to use.

Separation Anxiety

9 x 12
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: February 2023

Welcome Dawn

18 x 24
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: March 17, 2023

This piece shows a group of horses standing together, probably on a hot day, swatting flies. They are herd animals and rely on each other for protection, help, and comfort.
Each has a different age, color and story. Here I used a few new techniques to get a "glow" off the horses to show the extreme brightness and heat of the day.

Welcome Dawn

32 x 25
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: March 17, 2023

R.E. Lamble and his horse Missy graced us with their presence at our branding again this year. Some people grow into the land and animals over their lifetime and they reflect the land; how it moves and acts. Their body language and movement reflects the softness, or hardness, of the land they've spent their life on. R.E. ropes gracefully and with fewer motions than most of the people around him. Missy doesn't waste a step. They are a team sculpted in time.

The Fencing Rig

43 x 29
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: March 17, 2023

This saddle was built between 1914 and 1930 in Alliance, Nebraska by Newberry custom saddles. It was a custom piece commissioned by someone with the initials E.P.H., but that individual's identity is lost to history. My grandfather bought this saddle used, left it to my dad, and now is in use by my sister. Growing up it meant a lot to me because I thought it was so historical and so fancy. Neither of those may be the case, but it has served many generations faithfully and stands a symbol of truly living in a saddle.
Note the fencing pliers and fencing staple bag. This saddle was used daily for moving cattle, but also for fixing any broken fence along the way.

Established

29 x 38
2022
Charcoal

Available through Settlers West Galleries: March 17, 2023

One of my prayers for my artwork and my general life is that God would "establish the work of my hands" because so often we can work so hard at something and feel it slip between our fingers. So it is the same with ranching; a lifetime spent building for another generation. I encourage you to pray that God would let your work be established and not in vain.
"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" Psalm 90:17

Who, me?

15 x 28
2022
Charcoal

Available

Cows are not dumb. They can feel your intentions like a radar before you even ride over a hill.
This cowboy rides out to rope a very saucy looking heifer, but she already knows what's up.
Technically, a few things I explored in this piece were the individual hair reflections on the hindquarters and tail. Also note the flowing and matted tail which is closer to the viewer and moving so it is blurry. I found the right foreleg really interesting and I love that it shows the bottom of the hoof, rarely seen in artwork, but amusing because hooves aren't always trimmed to beautiful circles.

Good Ol' Son

29 x 29
2022
Charcoal and acrylic

Available through Settlers West Galleries: November 19-December 3

Eight Days

8 x 14
2021
Charcoal

Available through Bosque Art Classic, Clifton, Texas-September 11-24

This piece has a custom frame by Montgomery Framing in Tempe, Az. It was framed with museum quality UV protecting plexiglass.

Velvet Hills

22 x 19
2022
Charcoal

Available through Bosque Art Classic, Clifton, Texas-September 11-24

The Nebraska Sandhills have a unique ecology unlike almost anywhere in the world consisting of grass stabilized sand dunes. It is only about 20,000 square miles in size. Because it is such a small and unique area, I have rarely seen it depicted in western art even though the Sandhills are one of the remaining areas where traditional western life and work are still common. I think people have felt it is either too difficult to capture the soft beauty of the Sandhills or they mistakenly think the landscape is boring. I hope to clearly show the beauty of this place and its people over my career as an artist. I think, like the ocean, this is a place one has to spend a life looking at in order to see it.

I did this piece on Strathmore Bristol 500 cotton paper because it is incredibly smooth. Most charcoal artists avoid bristol because they need the "tooth" to hold charcoal. It is true that a rougher texture makes darker blacks easier, but bristol has a really unique advantage: it allows the me to "slide" the charcoal around and more easily achieve the velvety texture in this piece.

Vertical Reality Versions 1 & 2

21 x 13
2021
Charcoal

Available

This isn't a common style for my previous work, but I was so struck by our corral at sunset with the uneven posts reaching into the sky and the unsettling amount of curvature in the supposedly straight metal pole fence.
So many times in life, and in artwork we have a perception about something in our head and it isn't accurate to life. If asked to draw a corral I would draw a straight fence, perhaps curving with the land, but that would not account for time and animals wearing on the fence.

Old Fathers

22 x 28
2021
Charcoal

Available

Not every horse is considered attractive, but a storied life is beautiful. This piece celebrates the horses that have spent their life serving humanity in many ways. I love the different textures of hair on these two horses; all the way from downy soft, to wiry and hard. If you have ever pet an old Clydesdale you know the range of texture in your hand.

Mere Breath

24 x 34
2021
Charcoal

Reserved

I wanted to show the drama of the piece, the movement of the horse, and light. Notice the textures of smooth harness, the weave of the ear net, and the shine of the silver. The title is based on Psalm 144: 4 "Man is like a mere breath; His days are like a passing shadow."

Cloud Rising

20 x 30
2021
Charcoal

Available

This was an experimental piece on several fronts and I learned a lot from it that I now use in many of my pieces.

By the Sweat of Your Brow

22 x 28
2020
Charcoal

Available

I love the lighting on this piece from the translucency of the rope to the illuminated solid background to the bright reflection on the horse's face. I wanted to emphasize the clumped sweaty hair from a day of roping calves and the horse's attentive ears.

Roping Horse

11 x 14
2019
Charcoal

Available