Automotive Artist Rae Roberts Builds Her Audience Through Social Media

The automotive world and the art world have moved closer in recent years. While automotive artists have long promoted their wares through high-end galleries, or at events like the Amelia Island Concours and the Pebble Beach Concours, the explosion of image-focused social media channels, including Instagram and Pinterest, make it possible for up-and-coming artists to chronicle their efforts and build a customer base through direct, personalized communication.

Rae Roberts, a dedicated 21-year-old automotive enthusiast and talented artist, represents this newest path for up-and-coming creators to showcase their work. Rae grew up in Islamorada, a section of the Florida Keys with far stronger ties to water activities than automobiles. “I grew up fishing and going on out boats all the time. Everything was focused on water and water sports. I didn’t ever see any cars down there, really.” But Rae’s family eventually moved to Orlando, and at 15 she saw her first supercar, a yellow Lamborghini Aventador.

“I’d seen them on screens, but never in person. And it had such a dramatic effect because it was so unique compared to all the regular cars. The lines were really what caught my eye” said Rae.

Rae got her first car soon after the Aventador sighting, a 2008 BMW 328i. “My dad and I really came together and bonded over learning about that car, because he had never worked on a European vehicle before, and it was a lot more complex than the old pickup trucks we were used to.” Rae’s previous interests spanned a wide spectrum, from aerobatic glider flying, which she started at age 9, to surfing and diving, to pro-training in tactical shooting. But as Rae tells it, “Nothing really spoke to me like driving did. It was the only thing I found where everything on my mind just completely faded away because I was focused on what was directly ahead of me.”

The experience that pushed Rae from an automotive enthusiast to an automotive artist was a yellow McLaren Senna with a lot of exposed carbon fiber. “The lines were so unique and different.” Seeing that car led to an interest in photography, and looking at her own photos, and the details of car design she could study in those photos, led to practicing art, first with drawing people and animals, and then trying to capture what she loved about cars in her own drawings and paintings.

Rae’s production of automotive art grew quickly once she started. She’s now produced images ranging from complete vehicles to close-up, iconic design elements, to portraits of famous racers, including a striking portrayal of a helmeted Ayrton Senna that effectively captures the driver’s intensity. Her work, featured primarily on Instagram, has garnered the attention of the enthusiast community, with commission requests rolling in from across the U.S.

Rae says it can be challenging to produce her work on a strict deadline. “You don’t really know if it’s going to come out perfect within a given timeframe. I’ve had works where I’ve had to sit and stare at it and contemplate what the right move was for months. What makes the best painting and what speaks to people is continuing to evolve, so working within time constraints is very difficult. I pride myself on having creativity and the ability to try new things in every single painting so that it best captures the essence of the car I’m working on for a client.”

The best part of her budding career? Meeting and forming relationships with fellow automotive enthusiasts. “Some of my clients are of an insane caliber that I can’t even comprehend. Accomplished car collectors with really impressive collections, and hearing the stories behind how they succeeded and what made them fall in love with cars is always fascinating. And also motorsports, because motorsports is my favorite niche within cars. And because of what I do it has bought me into the motorsports realm,” Rae states with enthusiasm.

Rae is hoping to combine her ongoing artistic endeavors with an opportunity to enter the motorsports world as a driver. She’s already in discussion with an interested party about a professional driving opportunity, and she hopes to know more in the coming months. In the meantime, you can see more of Rae’s creative work at RR7.com.