Nadezda Stupina is an established artist with international exposure from Norway. She works with a variety of materials including oil paint, acrylics, pastels, paper, canvas, cardboard, plexiglass, and even denim. Her pieces are visually striking, filled with color, and they depict dreamlike landscapes, floral still lifes, and portraits. Her paintings are atmospheric, decorative works of art that seek to provoke joy in the viewer. We sat down with Nadezda Stupina to talk about her current projects, inspiration, and the start of her artistic career.
When did you know you wanted to be an artist?
My interest in drawing started in childhood, around the age of 5-6. My twin sister and I used ballpoint pens at that age to design the wallpaper in our bedroom, which our parents obviously had to change later. When I was 10 years old, a new children’s art school opened up in our district and I joined it. It was probably at that time that I was sure my future career would be in art. After my formal education, I attended an art college which focused on applied arts and textiles where I received a really good education.
Nadezda Stupina
Can you talk about your artistic influences and other artists you are most inspired by?
My favorites since I was young are Valentin Serov, Mikhail Vrubel, Konstantin Korovin, Abram Arkhipov, Igor Grabar, and many others. I often visited the Tretyakov Gallery or the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg and enjoyed their paintings. During my studies, I was very interested in the artists included in the association “Jack of Diamonds” – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Ilya Mashkov, Mikhail Larionov, and Aristarch Lentulov. Futurists I love are Aristarch Lentulov, Kazimir Malevich, etc. I was very impressed when Andrew Wyeth’s exhibition came to Moscow because of the depth and scale of his personality. Of course, I must also mention the Impressionists as well. Every time I visit museums and national galleries, I always find myself exploring this art section. Van Gogh, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, and many others. I enjoy their philosophy and attitude towards color in paintings.
Do you prefer to work alone or collaborate with others?
As an introvert, I naturally prefer to work alone in my studio, completely absorbed in the process, so that no one and nothing distracts me. However, I believe that it is very important to collaborate with other artists and share experiences. Collaboration can be very enriching by inspiring new ideas and creativity. I find the collaboration with Anna Shesterikova very gratifying. We have a joint project “connecting art” where we have been able to join forces for a joint plein air and several exhibitions even as artists living in different countries. Also here in Norway I am curating exhibitions for a group of Russian-speaking artists. Professional collaboration is very important for me.
Can you tell us about a project you are currently working on?
In recent years it has become very important for me as an artist to paint plein air in nature. I have been plein air painting in Switzerland, these last two years in Denmark, and of course I also paint here in Norway. I am lucky to live in a beautiful place, five minutes from the Oslofjord, full of islands and bays with boats and sailboats . Everything around me inspires me and I want to capture the beauty, the state of nature, and the unique shades of the Norwegian landscape.
What do you think you would be doing if you weren’t an artist?
As I am not only a trained artist, but also a designer and even worked as a textile artist and as an interior designer after graduating, I would probably keep doing that (like my twin sister), but my passion for painting has made me continue to be an artist.
Nadezda Stupina
Have you found any other artists on SINGULART whose work you admire?
There are a lot of artists on SINGULART that I like and whose work I follow. I like artists with their own style and that have a recognizable touch. Here are a few names : Valery Koroshilov, Olga Novokhatska, Rie Kono, Francesco D’Adamo, Roman Nogin, and many others.
What advice could you give to young artists who are just starting out?
I don’t know if I have the right to advise aspiring artists, I can only speak on my experiences. Being an artist is not just a career path, but also it’s a huge blessing and a curse at the same time. As an artist, you have huge amounts of work, doubts, and disappointments. However, at the same time you experience an incomparable amount of joy in the work, in the process, and in the result achieved. In fact sometimes you can’t sleep because different ideas come to your head. Additionally, nothing compares to seeing the joy that the viewers get from your painting.
“If a person has the choice not to be an artist, then it is better not to be an artist. But for many of us, art and creativity are the air which we cannot live without and indeed we do not have that choice because otherwise we do not feel the taste of life.”
Nadezda Stupina
