Natalie Featherston's Exhibition Catalog - 2019

Crafty B*t

Natalie Featherston Solo Exhibition | September 13 - 19

Natalie Fea

Crafty B

Solo Exhibition | Sep

Cover: (detail) Bringing Ho

Inside: (detail) Marip

Meyer G

225 Canyo Santa Fe, www.meyerg

atherston

B*t

ptember 13 - 19, 2019

ome The Bacon oil 14x18

posa oil 17x14

Gallery

on Road NM 87501 galleries.com

Artist Natalie Featherston works exclusively in the centuries old realm of trompe l’oeil, creating dazzling paintings that combine the virtuosity of a Dutch master with a thoroughly modern mind. The Chicago Sun Times has described her work as, “Artful beyond just illusion and trickery, they are truly masterful still lifes made with both craft and wit.”

Natalie says, “What inspires me most is the creative voice, whimsy and humor trompe l’oeil allows the artist to express. Unlike portraits or landscape, still life doesn’t simply exist around us. You have to build the stage for the painting, selecting the color and textures. The end result draws the viewer in and connects with them in a meaningful way. This is why I’ve always found trompe l’oeil to be a challenge, and although it may qualify me as a one-trick-pony, I can’t imagine painting anything else.”

Natalie discovered her love for painting by accident in the early 1990s after moving from North Carolina to New York City to pursue her master’s degree in music. An accomplished cellist, she has had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall and across Europe as a soloist and chamber musician. “Although I enjoyed making music, I wanted to do something more creative and unique, something that was altogether mine. I started drawing from the models at the Art Students League and I was hooked.” Classes soon followed at some of New York’s most venerable art institutions: The National Academy of Design, The School of Visual Arts and The Drawing Academy of the Atlantic, culminating in a six-year apprenticeship with Michael Aviano.

Ms. Featherston’s paintings have received numerous awards from some of the most distinguished art organizations in the country, including the Salmagundi Club and the Catherine Lorillard Wolf Club. Her paintings have appeared in The Artist’s Magazine, American Art Collector, Southwest Art, and the Santa Fean Magazine to name but a few of the publications that have featured her work.

Ms. Featherston’s paintings are sought after by notable collectors including Toni Morrison, Danielle Steele, J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman, and Philip Godel of Godel & Co. Fine Arts in New York City. Natalie Featherston is associated with the Museum of Realist Art in Boston, MA.

Natalie Featherston “breathes life and whimsy into narrative” with her trompe l'oeil painting style and unique collage subject matter. For her solo exhibition, “Crafty B*tch,” Featherston creates imagined worlds where skeletons marry, rabbits play cards, cowgirls ride pigs and bigfoot exists. Each piece is painted from a model of crumpled paper and found objects that were meticulously crafted by the artist, mocked up in a sketch and finally translated in oil with startling accuracy.

Viva La France oil 14x11

Mariposa oil 17x14

The Three Graces oil 20x23

I do think there’s a connection between embroidery, which has always been seen as ‘women’s work,’ and using it to embellish the image of a woman’s strength. For example, “Gunslinger” features a vintage cowgirl holding a gun. I wanted the embroidery to reflect her power, so I stitched a pair of pistols into the flowers and scrollwork -- you don’t really expect to see firearms in that context. I think it’s both humorous and poignant.

Gunslinger oil 14x11

Boss Lady oil 14x11

Once an idea gels, I start looking for imagery such as vintage photos or 18th century landscape paintings to use as the base for the collage. Next, I’ll source interesting things to add visual texture like cotton balls for clouds, beads, candy, seashells or sticks I find on walks with my dog. I revisit a collage model many times to try new things or switch them out; it usually takes several weeks until I’m entirely happy with the model. I paint from life, so once the model is finished and glued together I hang it on the wall and get to work making a drawing, and transfer the drawing onto a panel in preparation for painting.

Previous Page: Bringing Home The Bacon oil 14x18

Lacrimosa oil 17x14

I’ve been inspired by a lot of digital collage work, including embroidered photographs. I had the epiphany that I could make up a collage of my own and take it a step further by painting it. It’s like the ultimate trompe l’oeil, because not only are you trying to make the painting look three dimensional, you’re also trying to capture all the different textures. It’s so creative and challenging to find a way to tell a story through all these little glued down bits, breathing life and whimsy into a narrative.

Girl With A Pearl Necklace oil 14x11

Bound oil 17x14

Everything is sparked by inspiration - that can be a found item, like chunky turquoise beads, or a line from a poem. I like to make little notes or rough sketches of ideas for paintings on Post Its; one of the walls in my studio is covered with them.

True Love Never Dies oil 16x14

I Want To Believe oil 14x16

My favorite thing is that moment when a viewer is suspended between reality and deception - when they discover what they thought was real is painted. It pulls people in, gets them to stop and look and wonder. I hope that they love the deception, and also enjoy the storytelling. I love making pieces full of whimsy, joy and humor, and want to share those feelings with the viewer in a meaningful way.

Santa Fe Serenade oil 18x14

Robert LaDuke

Starlight Serenade oil 14x16

“My favorite thing is that moment when a viewer is suspended between reality and deception - when they discover what they thought was real is painted.”

-Natalie Featherston

Lover’s Eye oil 17x14

Call Of The Wild oil 16x18

Natalie Featherston

Education and Awards

Art Education 1995-2001 Michael Aviano, private instruction, New York, NY 1993-1995 National Academy of Design, New York, NY 1991-1993 Art Students League, New York, NY 1985-1991 North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC

Awards 2019 Finalist, Art Renewal Salon, Winner of the Rehs Gallery Award 2018 Finalist, Art Renewal Salon, Winner of the Arcadia Contemporary Award 2001 The Artists Magazine Annual Art Competition, First Place- Still Life 2001 Salmagundi Club, New York, NY - President’s Choice Award 2001 Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Club, New York, NY 2000 The Artists Magazine Annual Still Life Competition - Still Life Finalist 2000 Salmagundi Club, New York, NY – Art Times Award

Price List

Viva La France

14”x11”

$2,800

Mariposa

17”x14”

$4,200

The Three Graces

20”x23”

$9,500

Gunslinger

14”x11”

$3,200

Boss Lady

14”x11”

$3,200

Bringing Home The Bacon

14”x18”

$5,200

Lacrimosa

17”x14”

$3,600

Girl With A Pearl Necklace

14”x11”

$2,400

Bound

17”x14”

$3,800

True Love Never Dies

16”x14”

$4,800

I Want To Believe

14”x16”

$4,800

Santa Fe Serenade

18”x14”

$4,800

Starlight Serenade

14”x16”

$5,200

Lover’s Eye

17”x14”

$5,200

Call Of The Wild

16”x18”

$5,800

A Mermaid And Her Consorts

15”x15”

$4,600

Natalie Featherston

A Mermaid And Her Consorts Spreading Love Across The Seas oil 15x15

Crafty B*t

Solo Exhibition | September 13 - 19, 2019 Meyer Gallery 225 Canyon Road Santa Fe, NM 87501 www.meyergalleries.com