Nadine GENEST (Najda), a painter from Honfleur, the city of the painters, artists workshops and art galleries in Normandy,  who paints the imaginary

 (contemporary paintings, paintings for children and babies bedrooms, abstract watercolours)

The work of Nadine GENEST

Nadine GENEST, who signs her paintings "Najda", is painting like she is, beyond tendencies and rules. Her philosophy, her work : joy, magic, love, dream...

First of all, a little explanation about Nadine GENEST signature. If the artist has chosen a pseudo to sign her paintings, this is not by pure fantasy or by chance but because as a daughter of a painter installed in Honfleur, the city of the painters, or artist workshops and art galleries, she didn't want to use the same name as her father, even if their respective artistic universe are different. She thus chose the etymology of her surname Nadine to find out her pseudo. Indeed, Nadine comes from russian "Nadiéjda" that means hope. "Nadiéjda" became "Najda", a signature which suits well to this artist who thus confirm with strength her optimistic and positive world.

Through her paintings, this painter invites you in her inner world and very particular imaginary which she recreates thanks to her very personal technique where are mixed, in an aesthetics preoccupation, colours, matters, sometimes words or papers.

Feeling at ease playing with the different facets of her personality, this artist expresses in her paintings as well as her childhood universe as her more glamourous side. But the common denominator to all her paintings remains her hot and so particular colours, undoubtedly resulting from her roots (her grandfather was African).

Thus in the work of Nadine GENEST (Najda), some “patchwork” paintings, rich in emotions and colours, with ambiancies full of freshness and love of life, are close to paintings she calls “haute couture”, more centered on pure aesthetics, on black background generally, in which she works meticulously, as a goldsmith, matters and various golds in small squares in order to create like a pattern of fabric. Those "little squares" which became her trademark have besides contributed to her reputation.

The technique of Nadine GENEST 

 Nadine Genest (Najda), a self-made painter has a very particular vision of the painting, precisely because she doesn't come from any trend, did not receive any formation and because she is herself the result of different cultures mixture. Thus she had to explore, without any a priori nor any limit, in order to find her own rules, her preferences. For her, the technique, it is simply the practice, because it is while exploring that one can find, and by practising that one acquires ease.

Painting for this artist is the only art where all is allowed, contrarily to writing for which alphabet and grammar are essential, and to  music for which rudiments are the base. For her, painting does not necessarily need rules, it is an individual activity, which should never be practised strictly following rigid directives, but with a total expression freedom which enables personal blossoming. Nevertheless it exists some basic principles to observe, such as the forms and the colours harmony, an aesthetics search, and especially, the main thing for this painter, to always give the best of oneself…

Indeed, for Nadine GENEST (Najda), the artist has a role of “jester of the king”. He is there to give pleasure, beauty, magic and dream. Nadine GENEST (Najda) is contenting herself with “opening the door of a colourful and lightful world, and trying to traduce it by painting, and it is not so bad”.

This being known, one can understand more easily that Nadine GENEST (Najda) uses what one calls mixed techniques. That means she dares to mix on her canvas, various matters and paintings (acrylic resin for the principal), not having to strictly follow techniques which she did not learn.

Even if her work is built and she knows where she goes when she is starting a painting, this total freedom enables her to also make room to the intuition, chance sometimes, which can bring her to pleasant discoveries and surprises. That is the reason why her work, even if it is built, does not have a frozen side, because it is a mixture on one hand of thought and on the other hand of spontaneousness.

For this reason when one asks her to speak about her techniques, Nadine GENEST (Najda) is not very loquacious, because her technique is very personal, intuitive and unceasingly in evolution. The technique and what she wanted to express in a painting are closely dependent and undissociable, the most important for this artist being the emotion she wanted to transmit and the final result.

Nadine GENEST artistic route

Nadine GENEST (Najda) has a pronounced taste for aesthetism since she was a child, which she expressed during all her life with various supports, as papers or fabric assemblies, but also, through writing. But the common denominator of this painter has always been pieces assembly, of little things to construct a balance, an harmonious whole. In the Eighties, she was yet working patchwork compositions with pieces of papers where one felt the premises of her present work, her taste for the colours harmony and fashion.

Below : a composition with papers made in 1986 by the painter from Honfleur in Normandy Nadine GENEST, titled “Haute couture”, size 50 X 70 cm

It is at the beginning of 2004 that this artist chose painting as the principal support to express herself. It appeared to her as an obviousness and a result because this art enables her to mix and synthesize all the techniques she used since then and to share her inner lightfull world. This choice seems to be the good one for her work was rewarded by a bronze medal by the French Artists National Association during her first exhibition in Paris ("Salon d'Automne" of St Mandé in November 2004 : paintings and sculptures exhibition). On may 2008, she received a Arts-Sciences-Lettres Bronze Medal for her work from the French actress Marthe MERCADIER.

Come and discover the paintings of the artist from Honfleur in Normandy (the city of the painters, the artists workshops and art galleries near Deauville) Nadine GENEST (Najda) in the  “catalogue” rubric of her art gallery on line. A great choice of contemporary paintings, paintings for children, acrylic paintings on paper and watercolours is proposed to you.