Meet Raina Hampton

Today we’d like to introduce you to Raina Hampton.

Raina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am primarily a self- taught painter. However, I got my degree in 2002 from Louisiana State University in Interior Design. I always preferred to paint and explore on a 2D canvas & while I was going back to get my masters in Art Education my degree got cut short when my husband was called to serve in Afghanistan in 2004 and we found out we were expecting our first child. I wanted to stay home with my babies. Hence, my hubby turned our guest bedroom into a studio for me and he builds all of my canvas frames, so 13 years ago I “officially” started painting and selling professionally. My first step was scary and I would enter into small arts & crafts shows, or to tell people, “I’m an artist” was a huge leap of faith!!

I love to use a horizon line in most of my landscape pieces. I started mainly abstract because I love color and space and line but a horizon line was the constant in my art! So I went with it & contemporary landscapes emerged!

I enjoy playing with space & texture using a palette knife or broad, bold brushstrokes. Since moving to Colorado three years ago, I have found my love for trees (esp Aspens) on a whole new level. I try & bring my love for color and bold expression and meld it well with my practice of perspective drawing to create visually unique and welcoming art that draws you in and says, “stay awhile.” I am still learning from other artists and photographers and will always push my gifts & talents and grow & change for the better!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been smooth, but since I’ve taken my journey slowly I’ve grown so much as a person that the bumps feel like part of life & has rounded out many of my jagged edges it still hurts a little to be rejected from a show or have people judge my work harshly to my face. Still, I have to take it and ask myself, “is this true or how can I grow & shift from their perspective while keeping my work pure to what I see it and where I want it to go.”

The struggles are mainly me judging myself too harshly. Those are the times that I have to fight to get down to my studio and push the paint when I don’t feel I have a vision or have what it takes to complete a vision I have. Also finding the time to invest in taking more classes and developing my skills when all I want to do is produce more work.

Please tell us about your art.
My business is just me & my hubby. I love the way it brought us closer. When I go to a festival to show my work or a gallery, my kids get to come and help out too, so I want it always to be our thing and not only mine. I want to be known for lovely works of art that people can enjoy in their homes for years and someone who is growing & always learning. My personal and kind care for clients sets me apart from others. I love working with clients to create commissions that are perfect & special to them. I had a client recently that saw a landscape I had done and they wanted it in different size and they asked me to add a heart with their daughter’s initials carved into a tree- she had passed away due to a car crash in her teens. It was a celebration of her life and I got to be a small part of their journey. It was so humbling and special to me.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My husband works with a non-profit and we get the privilege of really getting to know college students and having them over to our house – a few of the students we worked with are now making beautiful art and selling their work -I hope by doing art in my home and them seeing my victories and struggles encouraged them to pursue their passion and gave them an example of pressing on to express themselves in such amazing ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.rainahamptonartist@gmail.com
• Phone: 662-202-5422
• Email: rainahamptonartist@gmail.com
• Instagram: @rainahamptonartist
• Facebook: @rainahamptonartist

Image Credit:
https://www.christinewiensphotography.com/

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