Egg Harbor Twsp, NJ artist Marie Natale captures the charm and beauty of southern New Jersey with her award-winning watercolors; bringing new life to Victorian homes, rustic boating shacks, seashore scenes, and local venues that are quickly vanishing or lost to new construction and neglect.
Natale began painting at the age of twelve, and the encouragement of an early teacher inspired her to pursue a lifelong love affair with creativity and art. She earned her Masters in Art Education from Rowan University and taught in public schools for a decade, winning the acclaimed “Teacher of the Year Award” and advocating for children’s art education programs.
Also a talented businesswoman, Natale founded Paw Togs/Enchanted Beginnings, a designer clothing line for infants and children. She then turned her attention to industrial design, and currently creates gift products and containers distributed in national chains including Wal-Mart and Lowes.
In the summer of 2003, Natale produced a total of eight lighthouses for the “Beacons by the Sea” fundraiser sponsored by Cape Atlantic Community College, encouraging artists to design and paint five-foot fiberglass lighthouses with local and whimsical motifs. In 2005, two of Marie’s design proposals were granted in the final selection for the Nipper Dog Project, raising over $100,000 in funds for the town of Moorestown, NJ.
Natale has been honored with numerous awards by the New Jersey Watercolor Society, including Best in Show (2006), the Award of Excellence (2007), and the 2007 Magali Gottesthal Memorial Award.
An elected member of the New Jersey Watercolor Society, Natale teaches watercolor privately at her home studio in EHT, at the Ocean City Art Center in Ocean City, NJ as well as community centers and art guilds throughout the state. A popular demonstrator and workshop leader, Natale continues to share her knowledge of art theory and watercolor techniques along with the joy that art has brought into her life.