Artemis Portraits
Artemis Portraits
> The Story of Artemis Portraits <
> The Story of Artemis Portraits <
How a Passion Became a Calling
How a Passion Became a Calling
The Far Off Look
Already dreaming of bigger things
The Background
The Background
Artemis Portraits was the brain child of Natalie Steele. Drawing since before she could write, Natalie always dreamed of having her own art business and making art for a living. She has been trained in painting (both oil and acrylic), drawing (pencil and charcoal), and life studies. She has a degree in Art History with minors in Studio Arts, History, and Math. While she's created various subjects in a multitude of mediums, she found her passion drawing portraits in charcoal. You can often find her with black smudges on her fingers, arms and face from getting lost in sketching. She met her husband, Bryan, while painting a mural of cartoon and comic book characters at the daycare their children attended. He spent time discussing geek culture while keeping her company, and opened her up to a whole world of fandom that she didn't know existed outside of her mind.
The Spark
The Spark
In September of 2017, for their one-year wedding anniversary, Natalie got Bryan tickets to meet his comic book TV show idol, Stephen Amell, at a convention. They were able to meet many of the celebrities in attendance, and Bryan, through meeting with one of the managers, was able to get Natalie introduced to one of the actors on her “bucket list”, John Barrowman. After that weekend, she was hooked! She bought tickets to the following show in Atlanta, on a whim to take her kids and her cousin on a road trip. Before that show, she drew charcoal portraits for many of the celebrities in attendance, to present as gifts to thank them for being so kind and approachable to her. Unknown to them and to many, Natalie has anxiety and a rare disability, and because of these she does not handle crowds well. The guests and agents went out of their way to meet and greet her away from swarms of people, and it was a kindness we at Artemis do not take lightly. At the Atlanta show, she was able to talk personally with a many of the guests and they gave her advice that inspired her: “Do what you love.” They all agreed that a life doing what you don't love is a waste, so enjoy your days doing what you want to do. She made quite a few connections and, unexpectedly, a few friends from that visit. The following week, she left her corporate job.
Bryan Proposes to Stephen
What better way to break the ice with your favorite star than to propose to them on your wedding anniversary?
We Finally Made It
Our first convention show was a huge success.
The Start of Something New
The Start of Something New
Artemis Portraits was officially founded in November 2017, the day after Natalie quit her corporate job. Since then, she has still been working full-time to help support her home and family but she spends her free time building up her portfolio and stock. It comes together, piece by piece. While it may be slow-going in its infancy, Artemis and Natalie’s vision for it continues to grow. They had their Grand Opening convention sales booth in Chicago in April of 2019. It was a success and came out with commission orders and more fans. Since then, we continue to take commissions and build the portrait (actor, character, musician, and icon) portfolio between orders. We shall see where it goes from there.
The Team
The Team
Natalie Steele is the talent of Artemis Portraits. She currently works a full-time day job to help support the family while building up her portfolio, but dedicates as much time as she can networking and meeting as many artists and creatives as possible. She spends her free time at home drawing television, movie and comic characters and actors. When not working or drawing, she loves to spend time with her husband and two children, and their pets: Bruce and J'onn (dogs) and Arrow and Laoghaire, or Larfleeze as Bryan calls her (cats). She enjoys comics, movies and television across all genres and gets inspired for her art by them.
Bryan Steele is the Business Manager of Artemis Portraits. He is a game developer, designer, artist and writer. He has previously worked with Mongoose, Privateer Press, and most recently CMON Inc. He is currently free-lance with his fingers in many pies across the gaming world. He has roughly two decades in the business with various prestigious credits under his belt. He can usually be found in his home office turning the creative gears. When not focused on his life's passion of games, he spends his free time with his kids, watching movies or television, gaming with friends, or cooking. He is also Natalie’s biggest supporter.
Team Artemis
The artist and the showman.