about Nathan Horner 

Nathan Horner’s story is a fascinating journey of an American individual/Artist. He was born in East Liverpool, Ohio and was raised by his Mother and Grandmother in Fredericksburg, Virginia with his two sisters. (Note: He was the only multi-racial member of his Caucasian family and has never met his Black father.)  “I have overcome much adversity.”

It was apparent Nathan had a creative gift at an early age. Acknowledged by his teachers and peers as an Artist, he was inspired to further develop his talent. Through his desire to paint and draw, he received many local awards, TV, and press coverage including recognition in the Lez Krantz, New York Art Review 1990 Edition. Influenced by Andrew Wythe, Horner’s early works were done in a Photo Realistic Neo-Folk style using Color Pencils. Broadening his horizons, he was accepted into Parsons American University Paris and New York, but Horner chose to attend United States International University (Note: Nathan was roommate’s with Thorsten Kaye of “All My Children” fame, and classmates with Academy Award Winner Jamie Foxx who also attended U.S.I.U. School of Performing and Visual Arts at this time.)

Associating with so many creative individuals along with the international campus environment and the California culture expanded his mind, and encouraged Horner’s desire to experiment with new ideas. He began to paint in oils developing a style influenced by Edward Hopper, Vincent Van Gogh, and John Singer Sargent. A full-time Painting and Drawing major, Horner painted for the Drama department as a "Scenic Artist." Living in San Diego, he began to surf, and work as a graphic artist for Tony Magnusson and Mike Ternasky of H-Street Skateboards, working with Artists Scott Obradavich, and Carl Hyndman. (Note: H-Street later became plan-b skateboards which then spawned a number of other companies. Legendary Vert Skateboarder and entrepreneur Tony Magnusson then created Evol and later Osiris shoes.)

Horner then returned to Virginia in the early 90s due to the illness of my grandmother who during this time passed away with Nathan and his sister at his side. At this time he attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA majoring in painting, drawing, and printmaking.

Horner was very prolific during this time and produced many paintings living in an old brick four-story storefront warehouse. This was also location of many social events. Nathan was happening in the underground music and art scene. In 1993 Nathan was awarded elite membership in the scholastic Golden Key International Honour Society in recognition of maintaining a 4.0GPA.

After his Grandmother’s death, Nathan returned to East Liverpool, Ohio, his place of birth, to stay with relatives for a while. He then returned to Richmond, Virginia where he was hired to be a supervisor travelling the United States erecting steal racks for warehouse stores.Tiring of life on the road, missing the surf, the weather and a stable place to produce his art, he soon found himself back in San Diego.

Soon he was commissioned to paint a Tree of Life mural at the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. At this time he lived in Ocean Beach where he painted his popular “OB Surfside Cottages”. Nathan loved San Diego beach communities, and resided the longest in Pacific Beach, later moving to a Loft in the East Village Downtown San Diego. During this time was his rebirth as a painter working to survive and do his art became his mantra. Ideally he needed to find a way to free himself financially so he could become a full-time artist, this sparked his marketing campaign, which continues today.

Since 2001 he has donated a painting annually to be auctioned off to benefit the Surfrider Foundation. The print of his oil painting of the Old Point Loma/Cabrillo Lighthouse was approved by the National Park Service and is now being sold at The Cabrillo National Monument gift shop in Point Loma.

In 2004 three of his paintings were choosen for the “The Real World: San Diego” house. The MTV reality show was filmed in
Point Loma, and all over San Diego California and broadcasted around the world.

You may also find Horner’s prints in La Jolla, and all over San Diego. You may also find his L.A. Icons postcards all over Hollywood, Los Feliz, and Beverly Hills.

Nathan has been an active member of a number of organizations including The La Jolla Art Association and the San Diego Museum of Art Artist's Guild. He is currently a member of Hollywood Arts Council and The New York Artists' Fellowship.

Horner now lives in Hollywood, California and works full-time for Imagic, a Graphics Company in Burbank. He intends to continue being a recognized figure contributing to the culture and visual history of Southern California, Hollywood, and where lifes travels take him.

Nathan has shown and sold in LACMA: the Los Angeles County Museum of Art sales and Rental Gallery. In the fall of 2005, he had an exhibit at The Hollywood ArcLight Cinemas, selling paintings to Director Wes Craven and other Film Industry Executives. You may see his original artwork in prominent galleries and collections around the world.

“I am passionately driven by an inner voice that tells me I have purpose and value as an individual. The things I create are treasures. I intend to continue my tenacious marketing, while leaving a legacy of paintings. Being a contributing and recognized figure in my time, The New Millennium Hollywood Renaissance Artist.”
                                                                                   Nathan Horner         

 

Artist Statement NATHAN PAUL HORNER
Individual- Artistic- Creative- Expression

Signing my work Nhorner, I was a surrealist in the very early stages of artistic development, through High School I became a pure realist. Using color pencil and mixed media I created photo realistic highly detailed works from life drawings and photographic compositions. Being very passionate, poetic, and philosophical, I sometimes expressed deeper meaning in my titles and sometimes with the subject matter. In college I was exposed to more art and art history. At this time my influences and path of artistic development began to be evident. My work began to emulate Claude Monet, Vincent Van Gogh, John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, and Edward Hopper. I began to paint in oils as the masters of impressionism, loosening my techniques, painting with less concern for detail, allowing the paint in all of its manifestations to convey my individual painterly illusion of a realistic image. The painting becoming its own reality, a product of the creative process. As a contemporary artist, I am inspired by the substance of life, emotions, a muse, and my surroundings. Southern California and Mexico offer beautiful subject matter. Each painting is passionately, romantically and energetically executed, each descriptive brushstroke a bold deliberate respected flowing action. After the point of inspiration, the execution of the work becomes a game of chess. I am a unique individual in time and space, documenting my worldview/existence via creating original oil paintings, each being a one of a kind thing of beauty to be treasured for generations to come.                                                            

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