Rachel Collins considers herself a realistic painter of natural and man-made abstract form. Her first watercolor class was in Haifa, Israel, where she was serving as a librarian and archivist at the Baha’i World Centre. After 13 years in Haifa she and her family returned to the United States and settled in the Alexandria, VA area. An interest in natural science illustration led her to an internship in the Department of Entomology at the Museum of Natural History. But eventually painting in watercolor as fine art became her primary focus. Her love for close-in nature subjects derives in part from her microscope work in natural science illustration. Her paintings have earned recognition and awards on the regional, national and international level. She has been teaching at the Art League in Alexandria since 1996, and has taught intensive workshops elsewhere in the United States and abroad.