Maria Natalie Schmidt

Maria Natalie is a fine art oil painter based in Chester, United Kingdom. Less than two days after exhibiting her BA Fine Art Degree Show in June 2022, she was contacted by both an agent and a gallerist and has been building her practice ever since.

Working primarily in water-mixable oil paint, Maria specializes in portraiture but also paints still life, landscapes, and pets. She has exhibited in the UK and in Luxembourg, and frequently participates in art fairs and events throughout the Northwest of England. Her most popular painting series is The Unfinished Finished Series, a set of incomplete portraits of women painted in acidic colours.

Alongside painting, Maria Natalie writes for other artists and entrepreneurs and also models for photographers. She takes pride in being able to support and help other artists with their practice as she builds up her own.


Artist Statement

The "Unfinished Finished" oil portrait collection consists of incomplete portraits of young women painted in acidic colours, made to emphasise the subject's facial features and to highlight the attention to detail, expertise, and labour that goes into traditional painting.

The series aims to merge traditional portraiture with today's contemporary use of capturing one's likeness by combining classic portraiture with bold acidic colours.

My references are captured in a home photography studio. The model is placed under contrasting gel lights. I leaned towards stoic, classic poses and facial expressions to mimic traditional oil painting compositions.


https://www.marianataportraits.com/fineart