Natalie Horgan
Fairhaven Studios, West Cork.
Natalie Studied Fine Art in the Crawford School of Art, Cork, followed by a Post Graduate in Dublin in Graphic Reproduction technology. Following this she worked as an illustrator in Dublin for some years. Her illustration work vas varied and included a series of Album Covers featuring paintings of the Irish Countryside. She now lives and works as an Artist in West Cork, with her husband, both are avid horticulturists, and love to take long walks with their four dogs in the countryside.
The inspiration for many of her exhibitions has been to create a sense of simplicity, something of a mental balm, reflecting harmony through the lens of nature
Natalie paints in oils. The texture of the paint is an integral part of each painting. I like to use the paint, not just to create an image but also a tactile object on canvas, a physical object in its own right, designed to be enjoyed by sight and touch. I like to use the brush but more often the pallet knife, sometimes using the knife to scratch through the paint to create a sense of an image. Natalie uses layers of paint allowing it to dry and then painting over the undulating nature of the thick paint inviting it to catch yet another colour.
Throughout my life when I have felt the need to relax and heal, I have naturally gravitated towards immersing myself in either nature or painting, or both. I am as motivated to work and touch the earth as I am to work and mix oil paint. I am as delighted and surprised by the growth of a plant or group of plants, as I am by the emergence of an image in paint. Both of these loves of mine are eagerly and energetically embarked on and both never fail to surprise me as they evolve and grow and change. I relax in the pleasure found in the wild scent evoked by a recent rainfall on the leaf strewn forest floor, as much as I find myself loving the intoxicating subtle smell of the oil paint as it mixes with oils and thinners! “
A common theme I work with is the healing and comforting nature of all things growing, I hope through my paintings to evoke a feeling of calmness and serenity in the viewer, provoked by the imagery drawn from nature in the wild, in the uncultivated natural countryside and from impressions and details of west Cork.
Sometimes images of the wild flowers and countryside, of our youthful past recall for us fond memories of simple times. These images can evoke internal impressions of engagement, evoking remembrances of smells and sensations that somehow in quiet reflection help to connect us once again to the deepest part of ourselves, that somehow never grows old.
Privately commissioned works and other original works are held in collections throughout Europe and the United States.
