Natalie Featherston Sold at Auction Prices

Natalie Featherston - Biography

One of the country's most innovative and accomplished young artists, Natalie Featherston works exclusively in the centuries-old realm of trompe l’oeil to create dazzling narrative paintings combining the virtuosity of a Dutch Master with the vision of a thoroughly modern mind. The Chicago Sun Times has described her paintings as "artful beyond just illusion and trickery; they are truly masterful still lifes made with both craft and wit."

"What inspires me most is the creative voice, whimsy and humor trompe l’oeil allows the artist to express. Unlike portraits or landscapes, still life doesn't simply exist around us. You have to build the stage for the painting, selecting the subjects, colors, and textures. The end result must arrive at something that draws the viewer into an invented realm that connects with their experiences in a meaningful way. I’ve always found trompe l’oeil to be quite a challenge for these reasons, and although it may qualify me for the 'one-trick-pony' category, I can't imagine painting anything else."

Natalie discovered her love of painting by accident after moving to New York City from North Carolina in the early 1990s 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 chamber musician and soloist. "Although I enjoyed making music, I really wanted to do something more creative and unique; something that was altogether mine. I started taking drawing classes at the Art Student's League of New York 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, The Drawing Academy of the Atlantic, and culminated 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 Wolfe Club. Her work has appeared in American Art Collector, Southwest Art, The Artist's Magazine, and Santa Fean Magazine to name but a few of the publications that have featured her paintings. Highlights of her career thus far include exhibiting at the Arnot Museum as part of "Re-Presenting Realism VI", an international show of the top contemporary artists in their field. In addition, Natalie's floral still life "Mum's the Word" was chosen from among thirteen thousand entries as the first place winner of the Artist's Magazine Still Life Competition. Ms. Featherston is represented by art galleries in several major cities across the United States, and her paintings are sought after by many notable collectors including Mr. Philip Godel of Godel & Co. Fine Arts in New York City, J.J. Abrahms, Danielle Steele, and Ms. Noreen Taylor, director of the McMichael Canadian Art Collection in Ontario, Canada.
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
1987-1991 B.M., North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, N.C.