About the Artist

Hello! My name is Natasha van Netten. I am a Canadian visual artist based on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. My artworks conceptually explore scientific information about whales, but I also enjoy taking a lighter, more playful approach to illustrative works: such as clothing whales in rain jackets and life preservers. Growing up along the west coast of North America has strongly influenced my art practice. Whether I am working on a drawing about orca population counts or creating a watercolour of a humpback in a knit sweater—my desire to learn more about whales is always at the center of my work.

BIOGRAPHY
Natasha received a Diploma of Fine Art from the Vancouver Island School of Art in 2016. She was honoured to be a recipient of the Robin Hopper Legacy Award from the Victoria Visual Arts Legacy Society and received an Award of Excellence at the Sooke Fine Art Show in 2018. She has participated in artist in residence programs in the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation and Iceland. Natasha has exhibited in Canada, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. She has been invited to publish articles about her work in the BC Art Teachers Association Journal in 2019, 2020 and 2022. Her work has been chosen to be included in the Sketch for Survival 2021 List of Finalists and she was honoured to be selected in their Sketch for Survival 2021 Wildlife Shortlist for their Wildlife Artist of the Year Award.

For more about my art practice, please check out my studio website: natashavannetten.com