Rachel Maria Kilroy

She / Her

I’m a Los Angeles native with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from California State University, Long Beach. But my arts background started far before college...my grandfather was a professional animator and freelance artist (one of the few Mexicans in the industry during his time), he taught me how to see objects as they really are and not how I wish them to be. It was then that I felt a film being removed from my vision, like I was taking off a pair of ill-prescribed glasses. He opened my eyes to art like only a true artist could.

My grandfather planted the seed for my love for art. So much so that I decided to spend my career working in arts education giving that experience to others. However, the combination of a few awful teachers in college and getting a job in arts education right after graduation caused me to not make art for leisure for over five years.

It was only during the pandemic when I was going through old college work did I get the courage to start making things again. It was scary, it still is, I never intended to be an artist. I don’t have a specific aesthetic or movement of art I follow. But every time I make something I hope Pop-pop would be proud of what I’m doing now.