corbeille des fruits Painting by Natasha Pelley-Smith

From a young age, I’ve learned to be a self taught painter. I was born in 1992 in Toronto, Canada, raised to be creative with the things round me so I could keep myself busy as a child. This included the creation of games, toys, spy kid training assignments for my little sister, cooking mud-pies, and even making jewellery from sticks and grass. However when it came down to it, the Christmas gift under the tree that had the drawing or painting supplies was always what lit my face up with the most excitement, and sent me in the most wild blunders of creativity.

In my early pre-teen years there was a time where I had a friend with a mural on their wall in jungle theme. I remember first seeing it, my initial emotions were of fascination and curiosity. I wished I could have that same mural up on my bedroom wall to be able to escape from the real world.. It became a new interest to paint large surfaces and later extend my painting experience to walls. Being a kid, I was told by some, that maybe I should start becoming more serious about something that will bring me a successful future. And to them, that didn’t include art. So with that, I started on a new path.

I started to think of other things that interested me in my adolescent years and grew into the love for the psychology/Neurology field. Being a doctor, of course, was something that made perfect sense for a solid secure future. So as I hit university, I studied a year at University of Guelph to follow this dream. For extra money to help me along with school payments I did some mural work and canvas paintings on the side. It was a true joy to escape from school at times to do these pieces. It was soon depicted that I wasn’t happy with how my life direction was heading and decided I needed to follow my true passion. It was at that moment that I picked up and left Canada to cross the seas to France. I wanted to engage myself into a new culture typically known for art and study the language so I could later go to the school best suited to my dreams, EcohlCité in Lyon, the south of France, which I have now been accepted to:). It is an international school, strictly meant for bringing an education in exterior murals. In this 2014 year I feel I am ready to finally take on this challenge to restart school and start my life the way I want it.

I will be heading into this year with the knowledge and practice of painting, drawing & sculpture done with various techniques, supports (I.e. wood, canvas, interior walls, plaster...etc ) and materials (I.e. acrylic, watercolour, oil, charcoal, pencil, pencil crayon ,pastel...etc). My style revolves around surrealism, realism and illustration mainly. Being in France has really taught me the importance of art in a society and how it can bring life to a town. Between the architecture, sculptures and exterior murals, I have been convinced that my decision to go to this school in preparation to change the atmosphere of cities, is indeed for me.

• Nationality: CANADA
• Date of birth : unknown date
• Artistic domains:
• Groups: Contemporary Canadian Artists