Natalie Toplass

Natalie started painting professionally shortly after moving to Shropshire in 2003, following her completion of a Fine Art Degree and a post-grad in Stage and Set design.

Natalie often works from photographs translated onto a large-scale canvas. The focus is then increased to enable the viewer to be surrounded and drawn into what becomes a detailed perception of colour, form, movement, and texture.

The subjects themselves are just the starting point to study these elements; the effects of sunlight and shadows are also having an increasing effect on her works; the subtlety of colours captures a unique moment. Each subject is so different, offering delicacy and detail but at the same time strength and vitality. It’s these differences that fascinate Natalie and she tries to capture that essence in her work. She wants the viewer to have an experience that is beyond that of the image itself; therefore, the scale of her work is important. By enlarging the scale, the nature of the subject is intensified, and enables the viewer to become surrounded by the beauty of the subject.