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?
Denne historien er fra June 2018-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
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Denne historien er fra June 2018-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Still life IN 3 HOURS
Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn
Movement in composition
Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement
Shane Berkery
The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio
The Working Artist
Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work
Washes AND GLAZES
Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING
Hands
LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands
Vincent van Gogh
To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display
BRING THE drama
Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene
Serena Rowe
The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall
Bill Jacklin
Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration
