The Colour of the Soul: Inside Nadezda Stupina’s World of Emotion and Imagination

Nadezda Stupina is not an artist who paints to fill a canvas. She paints to reveal herself, to chart the contours of her soul, and to offer a window into the way she experiences the world. From the earliest days of childhood, when she found herself torn between art, singing, and writing, Stupina recognised that the language she was most fluent in was visual. Supported by parents who encouraged her and her twin sister to pursue their passions, she embraced painting with a clarity of purpose that most spend a lifetime searching for. What follows is a conversation with an artist whose work is a living testament to intuition, colour, and emotion, whose canvases resonate with energy, atmosphere, and the quiet confidence of someone entirely in their element. Across continents, materials, and techniques, Stupina has crafted a body of work that is at once personal and universal, a celebration of life’s beauty filtered through a lens of honesty, depth, and imagination.

You describe your work as a reflection of your character, soul, and outlook on life. How did you first realise that painting would become the main way for you to express yourself?

I was lucky that this happened as a child, and I didn't have to struggle with choosing a career. Around age 9 or 10, when I was wondering what I wanted to be, I looked at what I was best at and what I enjoyed doing. I had a choice between art, singing, and writing. Life has shown that my choice was the right one. I'm very grateful that my parents always supported my twin sister and me in our choices.

Your paintings are full of vibrant colour and texture. How do you decide on the palette and materials for a piece? Is it intuitive, planned, or a mixture of both?

Each painting is unique, usually born first in my imagination. But the execution can be very varied; most often, I follow my feelings and intuition in choosing a colour palette and technique. It's a living energy, after all, and the solution often comes as I work.

Can you describe a moment in your artistic journey when you felt you truly found your style or voice? What did that moment teach you about yourself?

It's hard to pinpoint a specific moment; rather, it's a journey during which you encounter many things and then discard the unnecessary. And then what remains is what's important to you, what you like, and what you enjoy. You can't choose this theoretically—only through practice. This choice gives you an understanding of who you are and, above all, teaches you to understand yourself.

Emotion is central to your work. How do you channel feelings into paint, and are there emotions that are particularly difficult to convey?

Let me start by saying that I don't transfer all emotions and feelings to canvas. This applies especially to strong negative emotions. This is a conscious choice. For me, painting is not a trash can where I dump negativity. I'm an ordinary person, and all sorts of things happen in my life, but I want to bring beauty, depth, faith, and understanding into this world. I draw feelings and emotions from my soul and transfer them to canvas, so for me, painting is, above all, an energetic exchange with the viewer.

You have worked on diverse materials, from canvas and paper to denim and Plexiglas. How does the choice of surface influence the story you want to tell in a piece?

Of course, materials influence artistic expression, so I love experimenting to expand the possibilities and diversity of my artistic language. I once had a painting idea that waited for several years until I found a new technique and surface (denim).

Many of your works have been described as dreamlike or atmospheric. Do your paintings come from memory, imagination, or a combination of both?

I think it's a combination of many factors. For me, as a viewer, atmosphere is more important than the image. Atmosphere can also be conveyed in non-objective art, which I also love very much. And it's born from images, memories, impressions, and life. I would say it's also born from the rich Russian culture.

Your career spans exhibitions in Russia, Norway, and across Europe. How has living and exhibiting internationally influenced your art and perspective?

This experience has given me the understanding that despite differences in mentalities, cultures, and traditions, people are fundamentally the same everywhere. And this difference doesn't divide, but rather enriches. And I'm accepted, too; otherwise, my paintings wouldn't be bought by collectors in over 30 countries.

Looking back at your formal training at Moscow State Textile Academy and your early years in art school, how do you feel that education shaped your approach, and what did you learn that continues to influence you today?

I was very fortunate to have an academic foundation, supplemented by the applied arts of a textile artist. I think this combination has greatly shaped my vision as an artist. Decorativeness, stylisation, and a keen eye for colour are things I truly love.

What role does experimentation play in your work? Can you share an example of a medium or technique that surprised you or changed the way you create?

For me, experimentation is part of the creative process; I can't say it's always successful. But I always want to surprise myself, and that drives me to new achievements. When I experiment, I first determine whether something is my style or not. In oil painting, I've found experimentation with impasto to be my defining characteristic.

If someone were to view your collection and only saw one painting, what would you hope they take away about you and your world?

No matter what, life is beautiful!

In conversation, Stupina reflects on the delicate alchemy of her practice. Her paintings are born first in imagination, but only find their form through intuition and emotional resonance. For her, colour is a feeling rather than a formula, a choice guided by instinct and the shifting energy of the work itself. She speaks of style not as a destination but as a journey, a process of discovering what remains after everything superfluous has been discarded. Negative emotions have no place on her canvas; her work is about energy, depth, and the exchange of feeling with the viewer. Materials matter, from canvas to denim to Plexiglas, each surface offering new opportunities for expression. Stupina’s works are often described as dreamlike, and yet they are anchored in memory, culture, and experience, particularly the richness of her Russian heritage. Her international career has reinforced a simple truth: while cultures differ, the essence of human experience is shared, and her paintings, collected in over thirty countries, speak to that universality. Academic training at the Moscow State Textile Academy gave her a foundation in colour, decorativeness, and stylisation, but it is experimentation that drives her forward, each new medium or technique a chance to surprise herself and refine her voice. At its heart, her work offers a single message: life is beautiful, and that beauty is worth capturing, celebrating, and sharing.