#1: Rachel Alvarez, Artist
What I love about this conversation with Rachel is that even though she studied in art in college, she never saw it as a career path. It wasn't until she was 35 years old, with a two-and-a-half year old at home, that she realized painting could give her a mental break from the difficult job of being a stay-at-home mom. Now she's making her living as a full-time painter, after leaving a corporate career, and she's not looking back. Rachel is a painter and illustrator in Salisbury, Maryland, a coastal town on the East Coast. She's married with two kids, Mia and Christian, both under six. I love Rachel's work, because I can see characteristics of her home in a coastal town through her watercolor brush strokes, especially in her iconic prints of the United States.