Describe your illustration style in ten words or less.
Traditional watercolour, soft natural colours with texture and splats!
What items are an essential part of your creative space?
Plants, light, music and my locally made handmade paints.
Do you have a favourite artistic medium?
Watercolour. The day I discovered Ruco hand-made paints I was obsessed.
Name three artists whose work inspires you.
There are too many to mention but the books on my desk are by Jeannie Baker I have been captivated by since childhood, Freya Blackwood for their pencil lines and Rod Clement for his accuracy and detail.
Which artistic period would you most like to visit and why?
Surrealism still blows my mind, it was a time of crazy emotive creativity that shocks the viewer. Now I feel some Ai images do the same in a more sinister way.
The books of my childhood inspired me but like most creatives we are told from a young age that it is not a career, then one day later in life it suddenly dawned on me. I had held onto all my favourite childhood books because of the illustrations and it was my true calling.
Can you share a photo of your creative work space or part of the area where you work most often? Talk us through it.
I am so fortunate to have such a beautiful space to work in, situated on my inlaw’s property in the Byron Hinterland on Bunjalung Land surrounded by Nature and wildlife. There is a large shared space with loads of natural light for my painting and plants. And Yes, I made my husband fit a tree that had long fallen over in our paddock into the wall then had a light made out of a recycled oil drum.
What is your favourite part of the illustration process?
The whole process is a rollercoaster of emotions. With each new book, there is fresh pressure to do your absolute best. At the very beginning, it can be really exciting to have all these ideas swirling around desperate to be put on paper but then once the line drawings are complete and the colour starts bringing them to life it is definitely another high point.
What advice would you give to an aspiring illustrator?
Don’t be afraid to take your time, A lot of the illustration process is actually thinking, dreaming and imagining. It can also be very repetitive when you are drawing the same characters and environment so it’s important to take time to let ideas come to you and help make the job more enjoyable. It takes me 3 to 4 months to finish a book but I’d happily take longer if I could.
Nat lives off-grid and earth-friendly with her Bush-regenerating husband and nature-loving daughter in a tiny house on family land that they are working to protect and restore, she has a passion for conservation which often shines through in her work.
For more information, please visit Natalie's website or follow her on instagram.
