Nathalie

Nathalie Bourwall lives and works in north Sweden, where the winters are long and the light arrives carefully. She paints wildlife — bears, wolves, herons, foxes — in oil and watercolour, and she paints them slowly.

A work usually begins with a single long look: an animal seen at the edge of the forest or the river, held in memory until it starts to insist. From there it is months of layers, dark grounds and warm light built up until the animal has a pulse again.

Alongside the paintings she writes and illustrates. Mysteriet vid Luleälven is her illustrated novel for young readers — three children, one river and something older than the forest.