I was born in Northern California and raised in Hawai’i. Growing up in Hawai’i my childhood was always spent outdoors which is where my love for nature started.
I have always loved painting and drawing. My first memory is my mom telling me it was time to learn how to write my name but I wanted to learn how to draw tulips first.
When I was in high school I hand painted four trucker hats for my family to wear for paddling. We were sitting on the beach one day when someone asked us where we had got them from. My mom told them that I had painted them. To my surprise they asked if I sold them and if they could buy one. At the time I was not selling my artwork which we told them. After they left I was told by my family that was the sign to start selling my work. That’s when Hats By Zoe was born. Throughout high school and part of college I sold hand painted custom trucker hats.
It wasn’t until I was in college that someone asked to buy one of my watercolor paintings. Thus Zoe Rae Art was created. I did complete college with a BA in Art and a Masters of Art in Teaching. I taught art for five years while working on my art as a side business. It wasn’t until this year that I decided it would be my last year of teaching and to make Zoe Rae Art my career.
I currently live in Colorado which has been inspiring my newest pieces of art. Nature has always been the inspiration of my artwork. Every time I travel I try to go somewhere new. I feel that to paint a landscape you have to physically be there to know how to express it. This is why my work is of the places I have lived and traveled to.