Natasha Barnes Artist Biography
Natasha Barnes (1969-) is a self-taught abstract expressionist artist from South Africa. Her talent and passion for painting has led Natasha to create a profound style of abstract art which is displayed in the many colours and textures of her work. She is considered to be one of South Africa’s most published artists.
Natasha’s art is a reflection of her mood, she is often inspired by her travels and the rich imagery surround her life in Africa. Her feelings and experiences are absorbed and transferred onto the canvas with bold, bright colour, creating a new and fresh outlook on the world.
When speaking about her style of art, Natasha addresses how it took 10 years to develop her style and is still forever changing, artists evolve. Natasha paints in water-based mediums. Application is thick and sometimes textured. Her subject dictates the flow of the paint and with that forms take on an element of the unreal, moving into the world of abstraction.
Art was always a passion of Natasha’s growing up and after receiving much praise and recognition over the years she decided to pursue art as a career. By mainly exploring expressionism and movement, Natasha has created many large abstract works of colour which is what she is mainly known for today.
Natasha has always been a creative individual, before she ventured on the journey of becoming an artist, she went to cookery school, receiving her Diploma in Cordon Bleu from Silwood Kitchen in Rondebosch. Subsequently, Natasha worked as a cookery writer and editor before ditching the spatula for the paint brush.
When asked in The Natasha Barnes Artist Podcast if she found art or if art found her, Natasha simply replied, ‘art found me.’ Despite beginning her career in the cookery industry, Natasha quickly realised the extent of her creative side and decided to combine her love of art and cooking before deciding to make art her full time job.
Throughout her journey as an artist, Natasha has exhibited at many international art fairs, including the Affordable Art Fairs in New York, Hong Kong, London and many more alongside Essex gallery, Turner Art Perspective. Additionally, Natasha has sold to corporate and private collections, as well as producing works for Hollywood, TV, greeting cards, Airlines and Hospitality businesses.
Today Natasha spends her time living and working in Ballito, South Africa.