Natalia Olssen - [Tasha]

Born in the USSR, I studied dentistry and worked as a dentist in Khabarovsk for 26 years.

I immigrated to NZ to follow my son who’d been sent to NZ in 2006 to learn English, and never left.

I married a Kiwi in 2015, and we lived in a wonderful house beside the lake inlet at Lowburn, just outside Cromwell. We then opened our home as an Art Gallery, showing and selling works by Natalia, our Private Collection, and some Local Artists.

I have studied watercolour painting for more than 6 years, inspired initially by Alan Waters, but taking advantage of a number of international on-line art and drawing courses.

I paint for the enjoyment it brings me. It relaxes my mind and opens my soul to the beauty of the world around me. The quiet beauty of the rugged and desolate landscapes of Central Otago are hard to describe - the solitude, the changing colours throughout the year are simply wonderful, and it was my mission to try to capture the majestical grandeur and simplicity of it all!

We have recently moved to Auckland for a change of lifestyle and to be closer to my son who is also in Auckland. John was a Bannockburn winemaker for 23 years [now retired] and so we’re revelling in the change - the city and its vibrancy, the culture and opportunities presented and the different colours and feelings created by a totally different landscape, which in itself is also magical.

Auckland presents a new set of challenges. I love landscapes and city scapes but have found of late a passion for more abstract and Still Life work. Watercolour is still my medium of choice though. I love the way the paint works on the paper - the trick being to know when to stop, else you’re suddenly saying, Oh! I’ve blown it again! :)))

I’d like to acknowledge the schools and tutors who have help shape my painting style to date. They are, https://www.artefactoschool.online, Daria Kutsaeva & Roman Kruglov of https://www.hudozhnik.online, and Anastaciya Lobuz, Olga Andruschenka & Anna Egida of https://www.kalachevaschool.ru