Nadezhda SWAc
specialises in contemporary portraiture, creating works on canvas, paper or board, ranging from 160cm to 8cm, using acrylic or gouache paints and genuine gold or platinum leaf. Stylistically, her work sits on a junction between fine art and comic art.
Born in London, she now lives and works in the South West of England. She has had paintings accepted for exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy, the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, the Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, The South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, and presented her first London solo exhibition at the Royal Academy of Dance in 2025. She exhibits and sells individual works in a large variety of group exhibitions every year.
In 2022 Nadezhda was elected as an Academician at the South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts.
In 2023 Nadezhda was selected as a member of the Artists Network of the Royal West of England Academy.
Her main areas of inspiration are musicians,
for their sensitivity and depth of emotion, and how they connect to their music and their instrument. Her other, most compelling inspiration is to express acute connection to the authentic character of her portrait subject; it is not enough just to paint a likeness, but to convey the inner life of the person – something that is wordless, and can only be felt, not just by her, but by the people who view her paintings. Connection is a recurring theme throughout her work. Without connection, there is no art.
She accepts commissions as well as creating works for sale.
At core, Nadezhda's work is a celebration of beauty. Her work is marked by large areas of empty space, an uncluttered design, and a minimal colour palette. The result is a body of work which has a Zen-like quality of stillness and calm.
Major Exhibitions
Royal Watercolour Society Gallery, London 2025
Royal West of England Academy 2025, 2019
Royal Academy of Dance, London. ‘A Celebration of Male Ballet Dancers in Paintings’. A solo Exhibition 2025
Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Devon 2024
South West Academy of Fine and Applied Arts, Devon 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Delamore Arts, Plymouth 2023 and 2024
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 2020
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