Natalie Irish (born 8 October 1982) is a Houston-based visual artist. Her mediums include metal, paint, clay, fabric, and charcoal, but she has gained attention for portraits created using lipstick. She gained media attention in 2011 for her lip print portraits of pop icons such as

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, and

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

Biography

Born in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

to parents Denise and Sherman Irish, Irish has lived in

Manvel, Texas Manvel is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 9,992, up from 5,179 at the 2010 census. History The population increased from 5,179 to 9,992 from 2010 to 2020, and in November 2021 there wer ...

since elementary school. Irish married Dennis Bateman at a drive-thru chapel in Las Vegas. They live together with four cats and a dog. Irish also has two brothers. Irish was diagnosed with

type I diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar for ...

in 2000 during her senior year in high school. She uses an insulin pump to manage her disease. She attended the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...

for their metalsmithing program, but left school after three semesters. She returned to Houston and has since become active in the

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation JDRF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, provides a broad array of community and activist services to the T1D population and actively advocates for regulation favorable to medical research and approval o ...

and

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes (including type 1 diabetes, ...

, donating both time and art to raise awareness of the disease. In lieu of wearing a medical alert bracelet, Irish had “Diabetic” tattooed on to the inside of the right wrist.

Art

Irish was interested in art from a young age. The first pieces of art she recalls creating are a pitcher, two cups, and a bird - all made from clay she dug up in her backyard and dried in the sun while in elementary school. She still has the pitcher and cups in her home. In 2011, Irish gained media attention when website Oddity Central linked to a

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video of her creating one of her “lip print” pieces, a technique that Irish pioneered in 2001. Irish’s lip prints are created using lipstick and kissing the canvas. A 2011 Houston Press article details her method, including a video of her creating a self-portrait. Jermaine Rogers, a celebrated Houston-born poster artist known for his work with rock and roll bands, met Irish during a promotional tour for Vans. Irish’s first commission was a lip print of Jimi Hendrix for Rogers. Her lipstick portrait of Princess Catherine hangs in Ripley’s Believe it or Not in London. In addition to her signature lip prints, Irish creates fashion accessories including clothing, purses and jewelry, as well as sculptures, charcoal drawings, pencil sketches and oil paintings. She has been featured in ABC News, Bored Panda, Glam.com, ''The Conan O’Brien Show'', ''The Huffington Post'', ''Time'', and Yahoo News. Her art has also been featured at the Scottsdale Art Festival.''Desert Living Today'' "120 Seconds: Artist Natalie Irish"
7 March 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish, Natalie Living people Artists from Texas 1982 births 21st-century American women artists People with type 1 diabetes People from Brazoria County, Texas