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| Natalie excelled at art during school and later completed an Assosiate Diploma of Fine Arts at Newcastle College. This covered the many aspects of art including painting, drawing, photography, print making and sculpture. After experimenting with different styles and techniques it was wildlife art that Natalie felt most rewarding and inspiring. While working in the hospitality industry, Natalie took two of her paintings to a gallery next door to her place of work. They agreed to hang her work and within a week her paintings started to sell. It was at this point that Natalie decided to paint wildlife full time. After 3 months, the gallery owner asked Natalie to work towards a solo exhibition. The exhibition was held in June 1996 with 31 paintings for sale. After preview night only three paintings remained unsold. The exhibition was a complete sellout and 28 commissions were received. | |||||||||
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| Natalie's career has since blossomed. She has a number of reproductions of her work available nationally including four open edition prints, four limited edition prints, a series of plates through The Bradford Exchange and a Year 2000 calendar through Hanna Calendars. Natalie has also featured on Australian wildlife program Totally Wild, Australia Artist magazine, regional television, newspapers and radio and is currently helping to fundraise with Australian charity World Vision. | |||||||||
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| A R T I S T ' S C O M M E N T Before picking up a paint brush, a lot of research is undertaken to create the correct habitat, lighting and personality for the animals in the paintings. For this purpose I use both live specimens and photographs. Frequent field trips into the bush allow me to collect reference material such as wood, rocks, grasses and nuts etc. Photographing animals in the wild is not easy, being in the right place at the right time doesn't happen often. Wildlife parks and National Parks are the main places where I gather material for my paintings, along with wildlife carers for the Native Animal Trust, who care for orphaned or injured animals before releasing them back into the wild. I rarely go anywhere without my camera - you never know when something may catch your eye. A tree, bird or rock crevice might just have the right qualities for a painting. Taking time to go into the bush is just as important as the actual artwork. It refreshes my focus on my work, and reminds me how fortunate I am to live in such a great country, full of fascinating animals and beautiful flora which will take more than a lifetime to paint. | |||||||||
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| If you are interested in purchasing artwork by Natalie Jane Parker or organising a commisioned work, please email us or complete our Art Interest Form. | |||||||||
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