Raine Storey was born to Sue and Chris Storey and grew up in Fenelon Falls, ON.[2] Her mother is the daughter of the British-born Canadian artist Derek Woodhead and is a nationally decorated police officer.[3] Storey consistently cites her grandfather as the chief influence on her work, stating in 2013 that, "He pushes me the most".[2] She commented again in 2017, calling her grandfather, "a talented artist" who she is "closely tied with".[1]
As a 15-year-old Fenelon Falls Secondary School student, Storey founded Raine Storey Illustration, taking private commissions, while selling her creations.[1]
Storey is known for composing humorous and intriguing visual paintings that reimagine everyday scenarios and personal memories through fragmented, hyperreal imagery, bright, gestural brushstrokes and large areas of negative space.[4]
In 2013, Storey was awarded the Loran Award, the largest Canadian post-secondary scholarship, worth $100,000, for the funding of her entire undergraduate studies.[5] Storey is the second visual artist to have received the award.[6] As a Loran Scholar, Storey attended Queen's University in Kingston, ON within the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Hons.) program, coupled with a minor in the History of Art.[7] At Queen's, Storey was also the Graphic Director of the Queen's International Affairs Association.[6]
In 2014, Storey held an exhibition in Toronto, entitled "Fashionably Illustrated".[8] The following year, Storey spent the summer working in Quito, Ecuador as an art therapist.[6] In Spring/Summer of 2016, she travelled to Sydney, Australia working largely on printmaking, including examples of lithography on silk.[6] In a television interview Paul Lafrance and his wife Janna highlighted one of Storey's hand-painted silk scarves, while talking about the promotion of a new generation of artists.[9]
Storey was exhibited in the 2021 London Art Biennale for her piece Daliesque Woman and in the same year won the People's Choice Prize at the 2021 British Art Prize.[10][11]
Storey's most recent work is currently being displayed at The ARX gallery in London where she will have a solo show during London Frieze week in October 2022.[12][13]
