Welcome to my world!
My name is Nathalie Wessels and I am an artist. I was born in the Netherlands and as a young girl I used to draw, write poems, play the guitar and I loved to visit the theatre. At the time I wanted to go to Art School but unfortunately my parents told me that it would be hard to make a living as an artist so they decided otherwise.
I finished the Higher Economic School and through my work and holidays I travelled the world and learned a lot about different countries and cultures. I would bring home artistic items from each country I visited, from statues to paintings. I have always been very curious about life and the people that live in it.
Some years ago I came to South Africa with my best friend and we started a guesthouse. This was a dream come true for the both of us. As I found more balance in life I started painting. I found it almost therapeutic because I could really vanish into another world when I picked up a brush. I soon discovered that I like to use a lot of colour and I am mesmerized by faces with powerful expressions. Especially African faces are intriguing to me because of their mysterious untold stories. Portraits became my main topic.
At first I would choose inspirational faces in combination with their distinct rituals shown in their colourful clothing. The next step was to photograph my own models and paint them in a setting that would bring out their beautiful faces and characters. Nowadays I combine faces with nature such as flowers or animals and who knows what the next step will be.
Sometimes I step away from faces and paint animals or play around with colours in Pop Art style. I am an autodidact and prefer to use acrylics on canvas.
Life will be too short to paint all the ideas I have but every time I can finish one I feel privileged and grateful to fulfil my artistic dream one painting at the time.
