About Nadia
Nadia is a Bay Area native, born in Berkeley, CA, and currently lives among the redwoods in Mill Valley, CA. In high school and college, she spent her summers interning with artists and painting with her aunt, Zuzu, a professional abstract painter who taught her technique and to approach painting like play. While studying at Stanford University, she served as Photography Editor for the Stanford Daily Newspaper and took coursework in color theory, design, and the arts.
In 2015, Nadia drained an indoor pool at the Starship, a home in San Francisco, and transformed it into her art studio. There, she created thousands of paintings—often producing her favorite pieces while painting live during parties, concerts, and community gatherings that she hosted. Through these experiences, Nadia realized how much her work is informed by the people and places around her. She loves painting on site – deep in nature, at Burning Man, and at conferences before going on stage to attune to the audience – and considers each painting an energetic portrait, or encapsulation of the moment.
Around the same time, Nadia began working as an executive coach, doing three-day Cartography of Self immersions with entrepreneurs. For her, her coaching and painting are intimately intertwined and synergistic – she has synesthesia, and often sees and feels people and music in colors and forms. She’d paint before sessions with clients to move stagnant energy and deepen her presence, and then again after sessions. By analyzing the works’ form, colors, and essence, she’d better understand her clients and their feelings, which, in turn, enhanced her coaching practice.
Recently, Nadia has been offering Energetic Portraiture sessions, an interactive experience that directly combines painting and coaching. During these sessions, Nadia coaches the client on a topic of their choice while she paints at the same time. At the end, the client leaves with increased clarity and takes home works of art created just for them, reflecting their internal landscapes and visions.
In spring 2025, Nadia was commissioned to create a series of large-scale artworks for HAVAN, a wellness retreat center in Austin, Texas. Within an inspired 10-day creative immersion, she created more than forty paintings, including some of her largest works to date.
Currently, Nadia is seeking new spaces and opportunities to install large-scale artworks, through a similar offering, Awakening Your Space. These installations can be created on-site or curated from her existing collections to bring cohesive vibrancy and liveliness to any space. She is also prototyping innovative offerings at the intersection of her art and coaching practices, including the “Energetic Portraiture” sessions, and "Life Path: Personal Realization Map," a bespoke personal development board game.
