Succulent, 2022

This oil painting portrays a single succulent clipping, from my garden. The succulent’s robust structure and sculptural qualities lends itself to the texture of oil paint. The interaction of light and shadow on the clipping shows depth and texture using loose brushstrokes. I have intentionally set the succulent against a simple textural background to celebrate the plant’s vitality. In my still life painting practice, I am consistently drawn to the beauty of nature. Behind the scenes GIF included below of painting process, or can view here https://natbloomstudio.com/products/succulent

Natalie Bloom Bio

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications from RMIT, Natalie started Bloom Cosmetics in 1993 at the age of 22. Bloom quickly became a globally recognised, Australian business success story and Natalie has been the recipient of numerous awards that recognised her vision and entrepreneurship.

International and local acclaim for the brand collided with Natalie’s growing family and a desire for more work life balance. In 2012, after almost 20 years in business, Natalie decided to scale back the business to an online model to allow her to focus on nurturing other passions, including painting.

“I have always had a deep-rooted passion for nature, and was initially drawn to botanical art, where I came to appreciate the intricate details, growth patterns, and colour combinations found in plants. More recently, I have turned to oil painting as a medium to convey the beauty found in the natural world. Oil painting allows for expressive, painterly brushstrokes. All works are done directly from life using plant material grown in my own garden.
In 2020, after a chance meeting, Lewis Miller invited me to his studio and has been a generous mentor since, allowing me to paint alongside him in his studio each week. I feel honoured to have gained insight into technique and gaps in my art history knowledge from one of Australia’s leading figurative artists”.

ART EDUCATION
1989 – 1991 Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communications from RMIT University
2013 – 2014 Botanical Illustration at Botanic Gardens Melbourne under Mali Moir
2014 Portrait de Fleurs Workshop with Vincent Jeannerot 2014
2014 – 2019 Botanical Art School under Artists Jenny Phillips and Fiona McKinnon
2021 Victorian Artists Society Oil Painting with Lee Machelak
2022 Portrait Workshop Hawthorn Artist Society with Lewis Miller
2022 Victorian Artists Society Oil Painting workshop with Fiona O’Byrne
2023 Group show at Westgarth Gallery space with Fiona O’Byrne + Lana Daubermann