My name is Natalie Arsenow and I am an arist since I was about 4 years old. What I mean is that I always knew I had a calling, a passion, a direction in my life. As a toddler I was happily drawing for hours on end, would fill pages after pages without ever tiring. Finding something that you love to do is a gift that not everyone has the good fortune to come across. And life tends to put some obstacles in our way because unfortunately nothing that is really worth it is ever achieved without a few challenges.
During the final years of secondary school I chose art as one of my main subjects and then went on to university to actually study it. But as I had absolutely no link to the art world, no connections, no relations in the field I decided that the more sensible thing would be to attend a teacher training as well to make sure that I was able to get a job afterwards and not end up like Vincent van Gogh (whom I greatly admired for his grit and persistence but whose example I did not exactly want to follow).
After my studies I found a job in education and loved it. Getting young people interested in art, teaching them new techniques and tricks, giving them confidence and seeing their eyes light up when things start to work out is still one of the best feelings I can imagine.
However, a few years ago the itch to get more active as an artist again started to become stronger and stronger. I decided to dedicate as much of my free time as possible to drawing and improving my skills. First though I needed to find my own voice, my technique, something that would make me stand out from the rest. After a lot of research, trial and error and exercise after exercise I finally discovered something that I really enjoyed, was good at and which was quite unique.
Of course it turned out to be a technique (I call it geometric hatching by the way) that is extremely meticulous, difficult and time-consuming. Oh well, when was a dream ever anything that could be achieved the easy way? But since I found it I have never once looked back, had no regrets but on the contrary a multitude of exhibitions, joined an art fair, my drawings were mentioned in several publications, I was interviewed by various organisations, won a prestigious national price (out of more than 2000 participants!!) and couldn't be happier. I will potter on, hope for the best and see what life decides to throw at me next. So don't forget: If you find something that you love to do, hold on to it with all your might and never give up!
If you are interested in having a look at more of my art you can go to my website, www.narsenow.com or to my Instagram, www.instagram.com/narsenow