Natalie Rose
Artist Natalie Rose says that painting is the one thing she’s never quit. “I’ve been painting since I was a little girl,” she says. “It has always stayed with me. It’s where I find the ultimate natural high, other than making love.” Rose’s first commission came when she was 17 and still living in her hometown of Redding, California, where she was asked to paint a mural on a hospital building. Since then, her colorful, textured work has been seen in galleries, festivals and private art shows around her new home of Nashville, as well as on album covers and other kinds of illustrative work. “Seeing the way others perceive each piece, and how it affects them—I love the effect it has on me,” Rose says. “It’s my therapy, but there’s nothing better than the interpretation others receive from something you created.” As for how she sees her artwork reflecting her sexuality (or vice versa), she says being herself has “allowed me to be a voice for others who are not quite where I am.” “I am happily married, getting to do what I love and also very openly out,” she says. “It’s something I do not take for granted for a second.” —TB
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