Nathalie Torres

My name is Nathalie Torres and I was born 1971 in Bogota-Colombia. I sign my paintings as “Naty” which I am sometimes fondly called. As a little girl I had dreams of art and as a young adult I pursued my love of music and dance for ten years.It was also then that I recognized my ability for painting.

After finishing high school in 1987, I spent the next few years attending college where I studied advertisement and publishing. In the mean time, I found a job as a graphic artist in a publishing agency and started practicing dance with the Colombian Ballet; a mixture of technical ballet and folklore.

I was drawn completely to dancing, and before finishing college I dedicated a hundred percent of my time to it. I loved the experience of discovering new places and people.

My travels with the Colombian Ballet brought me to the United States, where I realized making a living as an artist was possible.

In 1999 I made the United States my home and started attending college to learn English. I also studied other classes and accomplished an AA degree in a matter of two years. One of the elective classes I found exciting was drawing and painting and it changed my whole vision. My art professor thought I had talent and suggested that I give it a try and I did.

I started developing my artwork at home; drawing and painting ballet scenes, which I was already quite familiar with. From there I moved on to self-portraits improving my oil-painting technique. The next inspiration was the study of children because looking at them shows us how life should be seen and lived.

A few years later, I developed the hammock works of the “swinging” series. The inspiration came from a painting I did of my sister and her kid sleeping in a hammock. After the painting was finished, I was trying to find the right frame for it and an inspiration, like a heavenly light, brought the idea to my mind.

The hammock works are created and oil-painted on standard-sized canvas. What makes these paintings unique is the extension of the hammock beyond the canvas. This adds a third dimension and a feeling of tension to the works. The extension of the hammock is made of cloth painted and folded to make it match with the colors and folds within the painting.

Since the year 2000, I have been participating in outdoor art shows and art exhibitions around Florida showing my artwork, which has earned me several awards and great satisfaction.

I hope my artwork brings joy to your heart,

Naty