​ As a fifth-generation rancher, Rachel Brownlee draws from a lifetime of experience on her cattle ranch to create highly realistic artwork that captures the rugged beauty of the Western lifestyle. After pursuing a career in software engineering, Brownlee returned to a family ranch in Nebraska intending to focus on her software company and the ranch, but her self-taught artistic skills took her in a
different direction. Her photorealistic style of drawing with charcoal is entirely self-taught. A local librarian encouraged her to enter her work into an art exhibition.
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Since her work’s debut at the Mountain Oyster Club in 2021, her charcoal paintings have earned her several major awards including the Mountain Oyster Club Best of Show Award in 2021, the Cowgirl Up Best of Show Award in 2023, the Museum of Western Art Roundup and Exhibition Best of Show Award in 2023, the Mountain Oyster Club Purchase Award in 2023, the Mountain Oyster Club Best of Show Award in 2024, and the Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery Masters of Drawing Award of Excellence in 2025. 
Her most recent award in the 18th ARC Salon, has an upcoming exhibition at Sotheby's in NYC July 2026. She is excited to participate in the 2026 Prix de West.
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She is now represented by Settlers West Galleries, Broadmoor Galleries, Legacy Galleries, and InSight Gallery. Through her work, Brownlee honors a way of life that is still very much alive. She lives in Lincoln, NE with her two children Hedda and Leif.

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In the Studio