Artist Natalie Haines

Showing at the Artists’ Niche Co-op Gallery

Shara Johnson

04/24/2008 - Artist Natalie Haines, originally from Savanna, Illinois, has literally found her “niche” in Colorado since joining the Artists’ Niche Co-op Gallery in Nederland. “Oil paintings are my main form of art,” she says, but she is also a skilled photographer. From flowers floating on a glass-smooth pond, to tropical trees and lizards, much of her display at the Artists’ Niche focuses on the sights and sensations of Hawaii. Additionally, her oil paintings include a bright collection of animal portraits; a giraffe, a flamingo, and a zebra eye visitors as they walk into the gallery space.

  Growing up, Natalie’s family surrounded her with art. Her mother, who is also an oil painter, stimulated her to develop her artistic talents at an early age, teaching her a variety of art skills and basic concepts. Natalie painted her first oil painting at the age of nine. She later developed her talent and tried a variety of techniques and styles of painting at Augustana College in Illinois, where several of her works were displayed.

  She graduated from Augustana College with an elementary teaching degree and an art minor, and spent a memorable year teaching English abroad in Poland, where she also had the opportunity to put her camera to good use, capturing scenes of urban architecture and the Polish countryside.

  Since moving to Colorado with her husband in 2006, she has been teaching art classes to children in grades first through eighth in Thornton, Colorado, and also provides art lessons for home-schooled children at Michaels in Superior, Colorado.

  “My parents instilled in me a respect and appreciation of nature through the many travels we took out west together,” she says. “We explored the variety of landscapes and the beauty of the Rocky Mountains, as well as the wooded areas and waterways of northwest Illinois.”  Her work as an artist expresses nature in a variety of perspectives “in the hope of stimulating the viewer to realize the essence of the subject portrayed.” 

  “Painting is an emotional and spiritual experience for me,” Natalie says, and she opens herself up to a new world every time she paints.  Her creativity spawns from nature, her teaching and traveling experiences, music and theater. “Inspiration comes to me from all facets of my life, and I try to diversify my experiences as often as I can.”

  Her well-rounded look at the world has led to a marked versatility in her artwork. She has experience from realism to impressionism to abstract, and in each case she adds her own unique style. Several of her paintings have been commissioned, given as family gifts, and placed in community art shows in Illinois and Colorado. You can visit her artist website at www.schneidercreations.net.

  The variety of her artistic styles fits in perfectly with the eclectic collection of art and craft at the Artists’ Niche Galley in Nederland, located on the southeast corner of the traffic circle.  Store hours in April are 12pm to 7pm Thursday through Sunday, with hours expanding in May.  If you are an artist interested in becoming a member of the co-op, pick up an application at the store or email sharakay80466@yahoo.com.