NATALIE MILNER asks the self-taught artist and youngest member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters why she loves painting the human form
When did you start painting?
I would find time to paint alongside studying and working, but it wasn’t until after I graduated in 2010 [in prosthetics for performance at The University of the Arts, London] that I bought a set of oils and became obsessed.
Did your background in prosthetics help your art?
I have always seen myself as a mix of a scientist and an artist. I had to study the anatomy of the body. I worked with people and their bodies for long periods of time while casting, sculpting and applying prosthetics. I learned how to mimic the body’s shapes, colours, textures in ways I have translated into my paintings.
You’ve exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition for three consecutive years. How does it feel to show work for the first time as a member in 2018?
I am excited and honoured. I was awarded the Bulldog Bursary by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 2014 at a time when I felt a complete outsider to the art world. Their belief in my work and the support they gave helped me to believe in myself. Being a member means that for the first time in my artistic career I have something to look forward to every year.
Your four works in the exhibition feature two individuals. Who are they and why did you choose to paint them?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2018-Ausgabe von Artists & Illustrators.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2018-Ausgabe von Artists & Illustrators.
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