Name: Natalie

Instagram handle: @kopina.art

Artist Bio: Natalie is a self-taught artist whose creative journey is as inspiring as her work. Exploring mediums like ceramics, digital illustration, and ink, Natalie brings a thoughtful, multi-faceted approach to her art. With a professional background in social media and digital marketing, she seamlessly blends storytelling with the pursuit of artistic expression, balancing creativity alongside a traditional 9-to-5 career.

How would you describe your art style: Frankly, I have to say that I’m still in the early stages of developing an artistic style. I believe that finding an artistic style comes from hundreds of hours of making art and thousands of hours of living a full life that is uniquely mine. From these real-life moments and repetitions of creating art, I seek to reveal my artistic voice. TLDR; it’s a lifelong process that’s still in its early stages!

Name of featured print: Lucky Knot, the Wood Snake

Inspiration behind your featured print: The inspiration for this piece comes from a lucky knot I made myself a few years ago. I originally used an extra graduation tassel, far from the typical knot-tying medium. However, that unconventional craft has inspired this piece years later, so it has still brought me some luck after all!

What are your creative inspirations? My creative inspirations include local Native Hawaiian artist Solomon Robert Nui Enos, American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church, and online multi-media artist Leigh Ellexson. Enos and Church are masters of storytelling through paintings with incredible detail and use of light. Ellexson has been a longtime inspiration of mine as she’s documented her creative journey and developing an artistic style.

What was your journey to becoming an artist?

My journey as an artist has been one of a lifetime, with art being a cornerstone of my life for as long as I can remember. Some of my most formative years as an artist have been during periods of time where I would rarely make art at all. I spent my time as a college student focused on developing my knowledge in business and marketing. During this time of artistic drought, I learned to express creativity in the smallest moments of life. Being able to live as an artist while developing my skills and identity outside of this role as become a challenging balancing act I continue to explore.