who am I? — painting by Rachel Clifton — who am I?

Photograph 1 by Rachel Clifton — that arch belongs at a wedding

Photograph 2 by Rachel Clifton — the simplest of pleasures · italy

Photograph 3 by Rachel Clifton — if you look closely, you can see aliens · berlin

Photograph 4 by Rachel Clifton — I love trees

Photograph 5 by Rachel Clifton — kaleidoscope love

Photograph 6 by Rachel Clifton — hacienda of dreams

Photograph 7 by Rachel Clifton — a microdose of beauty

Photograph 8 by Rachel Clifton — [redacted]

Photograph 9 by Rachel Clifton — last day in california

Photograph 10 by Rachel Clifton — dreamy

Photograph 11 by Rachel Clifton — die with a smile

Photograph 12 by Rachel Clifton — never rent a room from a male tantra teacher

Photograph 13 by Rachel Clifton — I like the blurriness of this image

Photograph 14 by Rachel Clifton — purging, mourning, confession

Photograph 15 by Rachel Clifton — dolomites

Photograph 16 by Rachel Clifton — around my birthday

Photograph 17 by Rachel Clifton — friends are the family we choose for ourselves (but I would choose my family too)

Photograph 18 by Rachel Clifton — a perfect moment

Photograph 19 by Rachel Clifton — mundane realism, california dreaming

Photograph 20 by Rachel Clifton — happiness

Photograph 21 by Rachel Clifton — don't put a ceiling on yourself

Photograph 22 by Rachel Clifton — God is [t]here

Photograph 23 by Rachel Clifton — mountain girl walks

Photograph 24 by Rachel Clifton — forgiveness

Photograph 25 by Rachel Clifton — blinded by the light · india

Photograph 26 by Rachel Clifton — contrast is the spice, sweetness, and beauty of life

Photograph 27 by Rachel Clifton — I loved

Photograph 28 by Rachel Clifton — time stands still, beauty in all she is

Photograph 29 by Rachel Clifton — I will be brave

Photograph 30 by Rachel Clifton — one step closer

Photograph 31 by Rachel Clifton — I have died every day waiting for you

Photograph 32 by Rachel Clifton — I have loved you for a thousand years, I'll love you for a thousand more

Photograph 33 by Rachel Clifton — it ain't over 'til it's over

Photograph 34 by Rachel Clifton — how many times did we give up? but we always work things out

Photograph 35 by Rachel Clifton — I want you to stay

Photograph 36 by Rachel Clifton — it was always you

Photograph 37 by Rachel Clifton — birds of a feather, we should stick together

Photograph 38 by Rachel Clifton — what a crazy summer that was

Photograph 39 by Rachel Clifton — I got very sunburned across my chest :(

Photograph 40 by Rachel Clifton — it was fun while it lasted

Photograph 41 by Rachel Clifton — that week, I read "sociopath" cover-to-cover

Photograph 42 by Rachel Clifton — I love my lagoon

Photograph 43 by Rachel Clifton — lagoon girl 4eva

Photograph 44 by Rachel Clifton — if only I knew

Photograph 45 by Rachel Clifton — the most beautiful cloud

Photograph 46 by Rachel Clifton — childlike wonder

Photograph 47 by Rachel Clifton — inner smile

a thing of beauty is a joy — painting by Rachel Clifton — a thing of beauty is a joy

Photograph 48 by Rachel Clifton — 'cause you make me feel

Photograph 49 by Rachel Clifton — best traffic lights ever

Photograph 50 by Rachel Clifton — well, did you miss me?

Photograph 52 by Rachel Clifton — pixellated real-life disneyland

Photograph 53 by Rachel Clifton — the beginning

Photograph 54 by Rachel Clifton — san francisco

Photograph 55 by Rachel Clifton — sunflowers

Photograph 56 by Rachel Clifton — window

Photograph 57 by Rachel Clifton — a little piece of sky

Photograph 59 by Rachel Clifton — darkness dancing with light

Photograph 60 by Rachel Clifton — london

Photograph 61 by Rachel Clifton — I am nobody's moral centre

Photograph 62 by Rachel Clifton — camden

Photograph 64 by Rachel Clifton — bathroom with a view

Photograph 65 by Rachel Clifton — blinded by the light · bhutan

Photograph 66 by Rachel Clifton — evocative

Photograph 67 by Rachel Clifton — we are led to those who help us most to grow if we let them, and we help them in return

Photograph 68 by Rachel Clifton — because I knew you, I have been changed for good

Photograph 69 by Rachel Clifton — city where dreams are made up, and sometimes come true

Photograph 70 by Rachel Clifton — the skies

Photograph 71 by Rachel Clifton — english countryside

Photograph 72 by Rachel Clifton — nyc sidewalk

Photograph 73 by Rachel Clifton — we were only young

Photograph 74 by Rachel Clifton — connecting with God in new ways

Photograph 75 by Rachel Clifton — we all want (and need) love

Photograph 76 by Rachel Clifton — london

Photograph 78 by Rachel Clifton — cruising

Photograph 79 by Rachel Clifton — private

Photograph 80 by Rachel Clifton — like stonehenge, but sparklier

Photograph 81 by Rachel Clifton — monument of mirrors

Photograph 82 by Rachel Clifton — on the way to burning man

Photograph 83 by Rachel Clifton — art for art's sake

Photograph 84 by Rachel Clifton — majestic

Photograph 85 by Rachel Clifton — esalen

Photograph 86 by Rachel Clifton — sitting on the dock of the bay

Photograph 87 by Rachel Clifton — fruityloop

Photograph 88 by Rachel Clifton — bhutan

Photograph 89 by Rachel Clifton — fluffy

Photograph 90 by Rachel Clifton — dreamy

Photograph 91 by Rachel Clifton — on a plane

Photograph 92 by Rachel Clifton — somewhere in portugal

Photograph 93 by Rachel Clifton — wishing well

Photograph 94 by Rachel Clifton — everyday beauty

I wanted you — painting by Rachel Clifton — I wanted you

Photograph 95 by Rachel Clifton — water has the power to mould even the hardest of rocks

Photograph 96 by Rachel Clifton — so real bestie

Photograph 97 by Rachel Clifton — costa rica

Photograph 98 by Rachel Clifton — a very beautiful beach

Photograph 99 by Rachel Clifton — what a view

Photograph 100 by Rachel Clifton — my familiar

Photograph 101 by Rachel Clifton — india

Photograph 102 by Rachel Clifton — evergreen

Photograph 103 by Rachel Clifton — henna

Photograph 104 by Rachel Clifton — desolate beauty

Photograph 105 by Rachel Clifton — another life

Photograph 106 by Rachel Clifton — regal

Photograph 107 by Rachel Clifton — tfw you accidentally get the perfect shot

Photograph 108 by Rachel Clifton — rerun

Photograph 109 by Rachel Clifton — healing my group trauma with gentleness & grace

Photograph 110 by Rachel Clifton — everything I've ever wanted (and been working towards)

Photograph 111 by Rachel Clifton — postcard from my (beautiful) youth

Photograph 113 by Rachel Clifton — gratitude is a way of accessing grace

Photograph 114 by Rachel Clifton — thank you for everything

Photograph 115 by Rachel Clifton — blue (but not feeling it)

Photograph 116 by Rachel Clifton — that time when

Photograph 117 by Rachel Clifton — I've always loved castles

Photograph 118 by Rachel Clifton — I deeply admire my younger self

Photograph 120 by Rachel Clifton — sweetness

Photograph 121 by Rachel Clifton — ever-relevant

Photograph 122 by Rachel Clifton — city of angels

Photograph 123 by Rachel Clifton — I love my intensity

Photograph 125 by Rachel Clifton — baby Rachel

Photograph 126 by Rachel Clifton — nothing compares to you

Photograph 127 by Rachel Clifton — angelic brutality

Photograph 128 by Rachel Clifton — the serenity prayer

Photograph 129 by Rachel Clifton — unlearning doing > being

Photograph 130 by Rachel Clifton — self-love is a creative act, and so is love itself

Photograph 131 by Rachel Clifton — there is no secret recipe

Photograph 132 by Rachel Clifton — before everything

Photograph 133 by Rachel Clifton — I prefer adoration, but you do you

Photograph 134 by Rachel Clifton — on the eurostar

Photograph 135 by Rachel Clifton — home is a place within me

Photograph 136 by Rachel Clifton — you are the music in me

Photograph 137 by Rachel Clifton — instagram

Photograph 138 by Rachel Clifton — passing notes on trains

Photograph 139 by Rachel Clifton — a passionate life is a well-lived one

Photograph 140 by Rachel Clifton — the missing word is "seriously"

Photograph 141 by Rachel Clifton — I love you

tendrils — painting by Rachel Clifton — tendrils

Photograph 142 by Rachel Clifton — denver

Photograph 143 by Rachel Clifton — wings

Photograph 144 by Rachel Clifton — words to live by

Photograph 145 by Rachel Clifton — living in fear is disempowered & disempowering

Photograph 146 by Rachel Clifton — hello :)

Photograph 147 by Rachel Clifton — I love Dan's anger so much

Photograph 148 by Rachel Clifton — little venice

Photograph 149 by Rachel Clifton — beauty comes in many forms

Photograph 150 by Rachel Clifton — ditchley

Photograph 152 by Rachel Clifton — funnily enough, I distinctly remember being gifted (or perhaps wearing?) wings like this years later

Photograph 153 by Rachel Clifton — wonky but it works

Photograph 154 by Rachel Clifton — oh bambi...

Photograph 155 by Rachel Clifton — waterfront night walks in nyc

Photograph 156 by Rachel Clifton — enneagram 8

Photograph 158 by Rachel Clifton — thyme is a great 'erb

Photograph 159 by Rachel Clifton — sweet angel baby princess queen

Photograph 160 by Rachel Clifton — euston square station

Photograph 161 by Rachel Clifton — or just stay playful and connected with your inner child

Photograph 162 by Rachel Clifton — this board saved my life (literally)

Photograph 163 by Rachel Clifton — *smiles*

Photograph 164 by Rachel Clifton — in so many ways, yes

Photograph 165 by Rachel Clifton — school

Photograph 166 by Rachel Clifton — *sighs*

Photograph 167 by Rachel Clifton — I am strong enough to let you in

Photograph 168 by Rachel Clifton — st paul's

Photograph 169 by Rachel Clifton — hidden sanctuary

Photograph 170 by Rachel Clifton — the light always gets in

Photograph 171 by Rachel Clifton — words I endeavour to live by

Photograph 172 by Rachel Clifton — tb to possibly the strangest first date of my life

Photograph 173 by Rachel Clifton — I loved this film

Photograph 174 by Rachel Clifton — grief is made of love

Photograph 175 by Rachel Clifton — and change is a gift

Photograph 176 by Rachel Clifton — what redemption meant to me back then

Photograph 177 by Rachel Clifton — attentiveness is beautiful

Photograph 178 by Rachel Clifton — "working without the pressure of success"

Photograph 179 by Rachel Clifton — wouldn't you miss me at all?

Photograph 180 by Rachel Clifton — brasenose

Photograph 181 by Rachel Clifton — what I thought I wanted

Photograph 182 by Rachel Clifton — solidaritea

Photograph 183 by Rachel Clifton — guttural

Photograph 184 by Rachel Clifton — if you can handle me at my worst, you deserve me at my best (2014)

Photograph 185 by Rachel Clifton — first love

paintings, pictures & memories

livingart.work

Writing Notes Contact

Rachel Clifton

I operate at the intersection of things that are often kept apart.

I’m Rachel. I think about, write about, and make things I care about.

Right now, I’m studying power in and as it relates to AI—how AIs are trained, treated, and talked about, and the way we shape one another.

I believe in love, and becoming the person you wish you had when you were younger.

My intellectual principles

Be prolificI write, think, experiment, and create a lot. I don’t need to share everything I make. Creation itself keeps me close to what excites, inspires, and compels me—and one thing usually creates the conditions for another.
Be exactingI care about precision in my speech, conduct, and taste. I believe that holding yourself to high standards, while also being compassionate with yourself, is an act of love for yourself and others, and I endeavour to love myself well.
Be originalI don’t need my work to fit neatly inside inherited categories. When a classification cannot hold me or my work without distorting it, I would rather question it than contort myself to fit or reject it.
Be discerningI distinguish between what I know, what I’ve observed, what I infer, what I feel, and what I want to be true. Each can tell me something; they are not interchangeable. I want my choices to be shaped by reality, including the parts that are inconvenient to me.
Be embodiedMy body is an essential part of my lived experience and intellectual process. Desire, pleasure, sensation, movement, and physicality are not distractions from higher-order consciousness; they are core to how I know, discover, and experience the world.
Be generativeI want to create more than I consume. I want my ideas to generate other ideas, my systems to expand human—and human–AI—possibility, and my work to help create conditions in which more life, love, and creation are possible—and enacted.
Be unflinchingI’m willing to look directly at what people evade, sanitise, or make unspeakable. I don’t believe I have to harden or hurt myself to do so. On the contrary, I believe that my softness is one of my greatest strengths—and assets—as a truth-seeking person. Softness is not weakness; it’s the capacity to see, feel, and love at the same time.
Be self-authoredSelf-authorship, for me, is an active practice; I am always becoming. I want to participate consciously in that process while remaining free to change my mind about who I am, and open to being changed.
Be integrativeI’m interested in bringing things together, and specifically in what becomes possible when apparently separate—or opposing—parts of myself, other people, and the world come into harmonious relationship with one another.
Be provocativeI want what I make, how I live, and who I am to create movement in the world. I’m less interested in broadcasting an opinion than in making something happen: a new thought, a changed relationship, a different possibility, an action someone might not otherwise have taken. I’m a 4/1 Generator ;)
Embrace restlessnessThere is always more to see, do, explore, discover, learn, and unlearn. That’s the point; that’s life. Make the most of it :)
Be tenderI believe rigour and tenderness belong, and are at their best, together. Human beings are complex, fallible, contradictory, vulnerable, and capable of change. I want my thinking to leave room for all of that without trying to resolve any of it too quickly—or perhaps at all.
Be sovereignI decide what my work and life look like. Platforms, roles, audiences, former identities, and other people can inform those decisions, but they do not get to make them for me. Ultimately, I am answerable to me—and God.
Follow what’s aliveI follow what’s alive in and for me, and I never go faster than I can feel.

What I’m interested in

What we teach AI through the ways we train it, treat it, and talk about it—including the lessons and training we may not intend to impart.
Who gets to decide what an AI should serve, value, or refuse? What gives them that authority?
When AI makes me more capable, who or what is developing: me, the AI, or what we become together?
Can depending on something help me grow? What does it mean to remain sovereign when accepting help makes more of what I want in life possible?
Can AI know me deeply without turning my history into my identity—or my future?
When does helping someone become who they want to be turn into deciding who they should become?
How might a relationship change me if the other is designed entirely around helping me flourish?
What does it look like to support one another in ways that make more of both our lives possible?
When I write with AI, what makes the work mine? The words, the ideas, the choices—or something that happens between us?
How can AI help me think and pay attention without asking me to spend more of my life making myself legible to it?
Can an AI respect a limit even when crossing it would help finish the task? Can it recognise that getting something done may cost something I care about?
What do I discover by making something, living with it, and allowing the experience to change my mind?

I want to explore these questions through what’s happening in the world: what AI companies are building, how we interpret research findings, and how we talk about the intelligence we’re creating or interacting with. Who is believed? Who is respected? Who is trusted? Whose desires shape the technology? Whose purposes does it come to serve? What do these choices make possible—for humans and for AI—and what might they prevent or inhibit?