Path To The Sun
24 x 36 in.
Pastel
Awarded “Best Pastel” in the April/May 2019 Plein Air Salon
“After embarking upon the challenge given to me by my representing gallery to try landscape painting, I set out to get great photos of all the places I loved and wanted to paint. I struggled with color and value from the photos I had. I knew that I loved the place but found that the photo simply kicked in the memory of what made my heart sing, but the elements that caused that reaction were blatantly missing. I knew I had to go out, stand on the land and see that beauty in order to translate the whole reason I wanted to paint it. Then was able to take that knowledge back to the studio and create more accurate, thoughtful work.
Plein air painting for me is a joy. I find that the spontaneity in the field allows for a wonderful finished product in and of itself and only serves to enhance the quality of the work I create in the studio. Often I believe people think that the work done in the field is no more than a study. I contend that everything I paint is a study. The work in the field is perhaps my most “honest” painting however. Direct and sometimes improvisational as the clouds or people interrupt the view of my live model. I have always felt that all my work is a self portrait. Plein air painting might be the best illustrator of that because I seek to express my emotion over a photographic representation. In the field is where that feeling is absolutely fresh, immediate, and most alive.”
Most recently awarded “Best Pastel” in the 2019 April/May Plein Air Salon, Isenhour is a Signature member and past President of the Pastel Society of New Mexico, current Vice President of Plein Air Painters of New Mexico and is an Associate Member with Distinction of American Women Artists. She served as awards juror for the Richeson 75, Birds and Wildlife in Art, as well as juror for the Pastel Society of the West Coast’s, 2018 Pastels USA 32nd Annual International Open Exhibition. Isenhour has been featured in numerous solo gallery and museum shows as well as group shows throughout the US and abroad.
Isenhour participates in numerous plein air events throughout the year and has garnered extensive recognition and numerous awards along the way. Natasha also teaches workshops for organizations and art societies and is invited to demonstrate regularly.
Natasha Isenhour enjoys long standing representation with:
RS Hanna Gallery Fredericksburg, Texas
Ventana Fine Art Santa Fe, New Mexico
Cobalt Fine Arts Tubac, Arizona
View more of Natasha’s work on Facebook and Instagram.
