Laguna Illustrator Rachel Judd Finds Beauty in Fine Lines
“When I was young I was a little ball buster,” laughs 25-year-old artist, Rachel Judd.
The Laguna Beach local has a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she shares how she used to hawk her art to small boutiques as a kid, often succeeding in convincing them to sell her works. “I love the artistic energy in Laguna,” she says. “The pull to create is in the air here, and I’m inspired by how many locals are in tune with that — I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”
A talented illustrator who has created commissions for locals and celebrities alike, she’s always had the art bug, and, coming from an artistic family, quickly learned how to parlay her skills into being an entrepreneur as well. Indeed, when she was just 14 she started a non-profit where she would make shawls, donating proceeds to a fistula hospital in Ethiopia. Determined to be the youngest fashion designer in the world, Judd got into both of the US’ most prestigious art colleges: Parsons in New York and SCAD in Georgia.
However, this is when her seemingly charmed life took a turn. Shortly after her high school graduation she was sexually abused, and then her art mentor passed away unexpectedly. She chose to forgo art college to avoid the pressure and instead moved to Oregon to attend Portland State University. As is often the case for a freshman in a new town, she soon found herself in a dark place as a result of the traumas she didn’t yet know how to confront.
The promising artist turned to alcohol as an attempt to numb and cope with the hurt. “I couldn’t go a single day without drinking,” she remembers. “Alcohol robbed me of everything in my life. It took me away from my family, friends, jobs, and I was miserable and lost.”
At the time, Judd was studying Art History alongside Psychology because she longed to know what went on in the minds of the artists she respected like Van Gogh, Dali, and Klimt.
“I was curious about mental illness, and if addiction was also present in their lives,” she shares.
Her medium of choice was oil paints and she would stay up all night painting landscapes and abstract scenes. “Looking back at them now, I can really see the pain I was in and the dark symbolism I incorporated into my work.”
Following stints in multiple short term rehab programs that would only prove to work for a short time, she finally hit rock bottom after losing her boyfriend to a heroin overdose, and then a good friend to the same fate 10 days later as they were both grieving.
“I felt my life was completely over and accepted the fact that I would probably also die in my addiction... but by the grace of God — and plenty of push from my family — I finally found the courage to seek more intense help. I moved to Canada to attend a two-year behavior modification program thats goal was to destroy the person you had become, and slowly build back the person you are meant to be. The program was very militant, confrontational, and strict,” she shares. “Far from the coloring therapy and hypnosis classes I was accustomed to at other rehabs. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, hands down, but it saved my life and allowed me to find my true self again.”
“I hadn’t done art sober for many years because I thought I did all my best work loaded,” admits Judd, “But while I was there, I started creating again.”
Drawing became a source of solace and helped her reconnect with her artistic self. Judd turned to portraits, something she had never done before. “Unlike painting where you can make mistakes and put your whole arm into the brushstrokes, the art I chose was with a fine tip marker, with well thought-out, precise lines. One mistake can ruin the whole piece,” she says. “When I start, I have to really study the bone structure in the face, the contours, shading, highlights, and ultimately strive to capture the whole aura of the person I am drawing.”
“These became my most proud works because I know I am giving something that I have put my whole heart and soul into.”
When Judd returned home after two years, she showed her family the portfolio she had traded her addiction for, and her stepfather, impressed and proud, encouraged her to start an Instagram page to share it with others. “I was very hesitant because I have strong feelings against social media because of the negative grasp it had on me for so many years and the negative influence I see it having on the younger generations,” shares Judd, “but while I know that social media can be negative without boundaries, it can also be a very positive platform as well.”
Sure enough, soon after she started posting her works online, requests for commissions began rolling in.
“I feel a great responsibility to use my talents to do good in the world,” shares a grateful Judd. “I believe that when we use our gifts for good, the Universe opens new doors for us.”
And that they did... the young artist recently made the concert artwork for American Idol and Laguna Niguel’s up-and-coming songstress, Ava August, and has illustrated everyone from her parents to Rihanna to Laguna Beach Living’s own pups, Benny and Bev.
Healthy, with a new outlook on life and a passion that fulfills her daily, she is back in school working on getting her esthetician license to specialize in permanent makeup (again, those thought-out, precise lines making magic happen).
Judd’s goal is to inspire young girls, both with her art as well as her story of perseverance.
“There is such a lack of positive female role models in the media, and the content that we see as young girls often isn’t real. From my own experience I know how damaging this can be to self esteem, purpose, and self image,” she admits. “That’s why I love how personal portraiture is. When I am drawing someone, I see all of the beauty in them and really try to get in tune with the spirit of that person. Many times people will say that I have made them look so beautiful in my drawings, but I think a lot of us don’t see our own beauty.”
“I draw what I see, and I draw what I sense in their soul. It brings me joy that I can say, ‘I drew you exactly how I see you, and you are beautiful.’”
It is Judd’s hope to combine her passions into everything she can do to be a positive influence and help others find love for themselves like she has.
“Because that,” says the artist, “has been the greatest gift in the world, and I want everyone on earth to have that feeling.”
Get in touch with Judd via Instagram at @rj.contour or email racjudd@gmail.com for commissions.
P.S. They make great gifts!
Lindsay DeLong is the Editor-in-Chief of Laguna Beach Living. A brand strategist and web designer who specializes in a quick 2-week start-to-finish process, she is well-versed at building brands from the ground up, establishing online identity, and making your idea come to life. Reach out to her at lindsay@lagunabeachliving.com or on her personal site, iLikeLindsay.com.