Nat Morley

My work reflects a passionate interest in the natural world.  I like to depict creatures with a bit of “attitude” and aim to create bold, lively images. I see my work as a celebration of my love for wildlife and try to capture a feeling of movement, vitality and humour in my pictures.

I studied geography at St. John’s College, Oxford. I have always been interested in both the sciences and humanities and this subject embraced them all. A child of the era of “Live Aid”, I envisaged myself working for one of the big charities like Oxfam and a degree in geography was the perfect grounding. I had an amazing time researching my dissertation on Aboriginal land rights. I lived with a wonderful aboriginal community at Barrel Well Reserve in Western Australia, which for me was a life changing experience and we still keep in touch.

After my degree I decided to go back to the drawing board – literally! Art was always something I had done. The walls of my student digs in Oxford were covered with my drawings. Encouraged by friends I took an access course in art at Stroud College while supporting myself with a variety of jobs. Having completed the course, I established myself as an artist with the help of a substantial grant and loan from the Prince’s Youth Business Trust.

I have specialised in relief printmaking and carve my blocks out of MDF using lino cutting tools. I print them individually using the back of a spoon and lots of elbow grease. I often spend hours, even days preparing the blocks to achieve layers of different colours and shades of ink.