Natalie Levine enchants with botanicals (slideshow)

Natalie Levine’s new Botanical series is a charming new genre that captures and embraces your imagination through enticing elements of mixed media. Creating a combination of painting and collage and using genuine pressed flowers that she has collected, Ms. Levine brings together both  the real and the imagined in her enchanting, whimsical works.

Born and raised in the New York metropolitan area where she studied at the Traphagen School of Fashion Design and Illustration, Ms. Levine has enjoyed a thirty-year career as an artist. The daughter of a French immigrant to the United States, she was introduced to the great works of French artists at an early age and continued a lifelong love of French art. This led her to a movement called Chinoiserie.

In the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, Europe was greatly influenced by all things from China. Decorative art showing flora, fauna, and landscapes of the East were sought and applied to interiors, furniture, tapestries, fine wallpapers, and porcelains. "I was influenced by Chinoiserie because I grew up in a home mostly decorated with it."  Ms. Levine has taken this art form and fashioned her own concept using vibrant colors, texture, collage, real flower parts, and found objects creating works that transport the viewer to peaceful, lush hideaways.  

“When this happens I have accomplished my goal as an artist,” she states, “to share a vision of ‘my’ world through my paintings and bring pleasure to the viewer.”

Though she is currently focused on her Botanical series, her earlier impressionistic work is equally remarkable. Whether using acrylics, watercolors, or pastels, her love for the Impressionists is evident in her harmonious landscapes. Her style has been described as both Impressionistic and Realistic, successfully combining the light and color of the Impressionists while still maintaining the detail and reality of the late 19th century Realists.

Her work is sold internationally and has been exhibited in galleries throughout the United States and the world, including the West End Gallery in Palm Beach, the Addison Gallery in Boca Raton’s Mizner Park, and most recently in the Studio 1608 Right Here Right Now exhibition. For now take a "journey of enchantment, discovery, and whimsy" by viewing the slideshow below of Ms. Levine’s beautiful work.

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