Natalie Scholtz had been travelling, painting and working as a roaming artist and art facilitator for a year when she met a lovely stranger who had seen some of her works. She was offered the opportunity to join as a residential artist in an equine veterinary clinic in Fes, Morocco. She resided there and painted amongst the stables, and got to record the ‘angular and sometimes fragmented character of the working horses, mules and donkeys of Fes’. “My 6-week residency there concluded with a solo show that I could not have been more proud or thankful for”.
Natalie is a well-travelled Australian, born in London, raised in Perth, and now resides in New Zealand. She was taught by her father, a traditional sign writer, and art was a constant, growing up, through university, travelling and living abroad. “It made sense and made me happy that the arts would be my career direction. I am motivated by the idea that I get to do something, to earn a living, which relates to what I love.” She is a self-taught artist, but has recently completed a short course at the Royal Drawing School London and has participated in ‘Artist in Residence’ in Italy, the Blue Mountains and Morocco. “I draw on inspiration found in my immediate environment. The gesture found in the everyday from botanicals, figurative, portraits, still life and self. I combine realism with a slight nod toward the angular, awkward and imperfect normalities. “The artists who have inspired me? I love Egon Schiele and Brett Whitely for their line. Peter Doig’s application of paint and colour. Frida Kahlo for her story in subject. Louise Bourgeois and her ability to capture emotion through a range of medium. My list goes on and on.
See more of Natalie's work here: Natalie Scholtz.
