Who am I?
I'm Natalie, an emerging artist.
I’m currently in my junior year of high school. I have studied art since elementary school and work across multiple mediums, including colored pencil, graphite, acrylics, oil, and film.
Alongside technical exploration, I am deeply interested in how art can function beyond the studio. Much of my work is rooted in volunteering and community-based projects, where visual storytelling becomes a way to offer comfort, raise awareness, and create connection. Through murals, advocacy-driven portraiture, and collaborations with charitable organizations, I use art as a tool for engagement and care.
As I continue developing my practice, I am motivated by the belief that art can be both visually rigorous and socially meaningful—capable of holding personal narrative while contributing to something larger than itself.
My practice is also deeply influenced by travel. Through frequent travel with my family all over the world, I’ve been exposed to a wide range of cultures, histories, and visual traditions, many of which find their way into my work. In particular, my connection to Eastern European culture - shaped in part by my fluency in Russian - has informed my memory, displacement, resilience, and intergenerational narrative. These experiences often serve as both visual and emotional reference points, influencing my use of color and subject matter.
Many artists have helped me grow and learn about art.
Francesca Pellagi (some of her work can be found on her website: https://francescapelaggi.com) has been my earliest influence.
I am currently studying with Charles Gulbrandsen (painting) and other artists at the RPAC Art Center and Academy (https://www.rpacartcenter.com/). Over the summer I volunteer to help with the gallery set-up. You can also check out the RPAC promotional video that features a couple of my pieces here.
In addition, I volunteer as a child art instructor helper and am a Teen Fellow at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, CT.
Additionally, thank you to Dana Phelan at Ridgefield High School for guiding and supporting me through my artistic inquiry and experimentation during my sophomore year.