Raine Storey, a force to be reckoned with

Image supplied by: Supplied by Raine Storey

Raine Storey, full-time Fine Arts Honours student, owner of her own business and freelance artist, is ready to take the world by storm. 

Storey is a graduating BFA Honours student, currently working on her thesis in textiles and their relationships. She’s the only Fine Art student ever to have received the Loran scholarship, a prestigious $100,000 scholarship granted to 30 students in Canada every year. 

“I was definitely born with the ability to draw. My grandfather is a really talented artist, and I’m very closely tied with him,” Storey said of her artistic upbringing. “I’m constantly sending him pictures to critique, he’s been my inspiration.”

When she was 15, Storey founded a custom illustration and design business, which keeps her busy to this day with commissions, most recently a logo for a branch of the Ontario provincial police. 

“I’m kind of the black sheep, I just execute things differently than the majority of my fellow scholars. I guess, I’m also the experiment.” Storey had her pick of 25 universities after recieving the Loran scholarship, but Queen’s stood out for its community feel and inspiring studio spaces.  

“Queen’s has helped me develop intellectually. Through my electives I’ve been able to take business courses, computer science courses, history courses … That research aspect has strengthened my art,” Storey said. “Also it’s a very tight knit class, and you’re close with your professors. You’ve been to their house for tea.”

Storey is currently working on a thesis project that explores a variety of textiles and their relationships to each other. She quickly showed me a photo of one of her paintings, and I had to do a double take: the neutral, dark tones blend together so well, I would’ve mistaken it for a photo had I not known better. 

“I wanted to highlight the relationship between silk and wine. The tones are very earthy, “ Storey described her oil on canvas painting. “Queen’s has really gotten me into oil painting.” 

Storey also works with silk and embroidery among the diverse range of textiles covered by her thesis. 

Storey’s last three years at Queen’s have been punctuated by summers abroad working with  everything from jewellery, mural design, art therapy and public policy implementation. 

“I also did a semester at the University of New South Wales, which gave me that art school experience I didn’t get at Queen’s. The weather was really nice … but it did make me appreciate my home school.” 

When asked about her long-term aspirations, Storey paused for a moment, “I want to be working with a company that I’m inspired by.  I would love to be an art director. I’m interested in a diverse range of subjects and I think that’ll show in my career later on.”

Alongside job interviews in advertising, marketing and design positions, Storey is weighing the option of grad school with continuation of her freelance work. When asked where we’ll find her this summer: “Probably Toronto…or maybe home [Fenelon Falls, ON] to see my parents for once.”

Tags

Artist, illustration, Loran scholar, Painting

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