Sonoma County has been recognized for producing some of the best wine and food around the world. The abundance of these delicacies within the community yields a vibrant, artistic culture. 

Sonoma State University student Rheannon Eisworth is worthy of recognition as a noteworthy addition to this flourishing art community.

Eisworth recently moved from San Luis Obispo to Rohnert Park to attend Sonoma State. She has been attending Sonoma State for two years studying business and art.

Her current choice of medium is pen and pencil as she mostly enjoys drawing. Eventually, she aims to progress from realistic drawings to more stylistic pieces through painting and ceramics. She notes an important distinction between photography and painting, motivating the potential to advance her work.

“I would describe my art as not super realistic, but not really cartoonist. For instance, I have one really big art piece that’s like a person that is dysmorphic and has two heads,” said Eisworth. “It’s kind of interesting. I have one witch girl with a cat. There is another artist that I follow that makes a lot of people and flowers. It probably sounds weirder than it looks.”

According to Eisworth, she draws most of her inspiration from her mother and emerging unlicensed artists on platforms such as Instagram and Tumblr. Some of her favorite artists online include Paul Jackson and Julia Gabrielov.

“I like to collect art. I follow a lot of people on Instagram. Then I find their websites and buy from them sometimes,” said Eisworth.

 When asked about her recent accomplishments, she talked about a piece she is drafting for a back tattoo for her boyfriend. Eisworth and her boyfriend Chris Sellite have been dating for over a year and he commented on her methods as an artist.

“She is very passionate and adamant about her art. I am having her work on a drawing that I plan to have as a tattoo involving the tree of life,” said Sellite. “I think she has a very creative mind and puts 110 percent effort into every piece she does. She is very particular and won’t stop until it’s just the way she likes it. Overall, I think she is a fantastic artist and should continue with it her whole life.”

According to Eisworth, her upbringing has influenced a diverse direction in the arts. Her parents came from two completely different backgrounds, which has helped to enable the artist to have a flexible mind and be competent in both the arts and science.

“My parents are divorced. My dad is a computer engineer and on the wealthy side. I am also really good at math and science and less good at English and writing,” said Eisworth. “He wanted me to do engineering more often. He was less encouraging of it and didn’t think I could make a lot of money off art and photography. I think he is happy I am a business major. My mom is encouraging of it, she was a graphic designer for a while, and she is more on the artsy side. She has to work a lot because she is nurse now. So it’s kind of interesting coming from those two backgrounds.”

According to Eisworth she has considered many different directions as to how she wants to pursue her passion in the arts. 

She has considered things such as being a tattoo artist and opening her own art gallery.

“For now art is more of a hobby, but for a long time I wanted to be a tattoo artist. I don’t know if that is still a passion I am still interested in,” said Eisworth. “In the future, since I am a business major, I was thinking about opening my own art gallery and making it a weird ‘wine and beer bar’ type thing. There is something kind of like that in San Luis Obispo but I want to take the idea and change it to my own.”

Her most recent idea of combining a business venture with her art allows her to display her talents in both the arts and science. But more importantly, it has helped her establish a middle ground with her father in which they can both be more accepting of each other’s differences.

“I’m not sure I have a message, I just like to do it as a more fun relaxing thing. You just get really concentrated in a sense,” said Eisworth. “I thought of this yesterday, because I was reading an article for my art class. It’s kind of like yoga in a sense where you concentrate on the breath but you concentrate on art instead and you aren’t really thinking about all the negative things.”

Eisworth is very personable and laughs frequently throughout conversation. She described herself as being a nice person but interested in dark things. Her favorite color is purple and she enjoys a wide variety of music ranging from Screamo, Death Cab for Cutie and Purity Ring.