NINA

Nina, artist name of Nadine Pillet, was born on January 9, 1970 in Switzerland. At the beginning of the 90s, during a stay of several years in Asia, she discovered the technique of painting with carbon powder, for which she had a real "love at first sight". Passionate about this technique, she learned the basics with a local artist. After her return to Switzerland, divided between art and medicine, she put her brushes in a "drawer" and decided to give her time mainly to natural and quantum medicine. Back in Asia in 2013, she fell in love with this technique again. In 2014, she moved there for several months and began to paint again in a local gallery. It was during this period that she finally found the fulfillment that gave her the confidence to continue on this path. Her paintings are entirely based on the human emotions that fascinate her. His works consist mainly of portraits, representations of emotions captured in their daily evolutions and the symbolism of great human feelings such as inner peace, the search for harmony and love. His paintings are made with carbon powder, with or without a paint base according to the requirements of the specific subject. She applies the carbon powder with brushes to the paper in very small quantities, which allows her to play with shades ranging from very light gray to deep black. The result thus obtained approaches a black-white photo. For some paintings, she uses powdered pastels applied in the same way in order to contrast a specific element. For mixed media, she uses watercolor and / or acrylic for the background before painting with carbon, thus giving an impression of an old painting or sculpture. This subtle technique, which lends itself very well to creating images in detail, is almost unknown in the West where it arouses great interest and a warm welcome. What is important for her in the creation of a painting is not so much the technique, but the emotions that emerge from it and that the people who look at it feel that in them, that there is an echo to something. something personal, that they are found somewhere in the work. When this is the case, for her it's a successful painting, even if, technically, she could perhaps have done better. Making a work lively and expressive is what is most dear to her. It is a technique that requires a lot of time and patience. A carbon portrait in 28x38 cm format requires between 20 and 30 hours of work and a larger format, generally around 40x60, will take between 40 and 70 hours depending on the details. In mixed media, she easily reaches 100 working hours. Each painting is a journey that transports her to deep emotions, in the magic of creation, out of space-time, wishing to project you into your own Universe and take you to travel inside yourself.