Under Pressure Painting

Nena was born on September 28th, 1973 in Ivanjica,Serbia. The daughter of an engineer, painter and wood craftsman, Nena grew up being amazed by the art created around her. The arts existed in the lives of many in her family circles, always feeding and influencing her growth and development as an artist. When at school, this was evident as her curiosity urged her to be the best in her classes. She was always involved in the arts and her artwork was always featured in displays. In 1987, when she was a sixth grade student, Nena’s project was selected in the contest "Best children's drawings of Yugoslavia" to be printed in the book "Poems for grandfather” by famous Serbian poet, Milovan Vitezovic. Outside art, Nena excelled in gymnastics where she collected 10 medals, a broken tooth, and what became an interest in dentistry. Nena graduated from the Medical School of Belgrade earning a degree as a dental technician. Just prior to the year 2000, Nena left her homeland Serbia to move to Nafplio, the first capital of Greece, where she still lives today, happily married and a mother of two beautiful children. The first years in Greece were very difficult for Nena. To make ends meet she worked hard as a carpenter and a furniture painter among other occupations. These experiences also shaped her and fed her creative experiences, allowing her to experiment more with her art. In 2010, when she received a long term residence permit, Nena decided to start painting and pursuing her art. Her style is very unique.She mostly use wood,mdf veneer and naked about 1cm thick. As a wood product it is not ready for paint ,materials preparation includes: § installation of special metal hooks § a good rub-down with sandpaper to finish the wood and cut-edges § after cleaning the dust, a water-based paint primer (enamel wood) is used § then the main painting is done with enamel paint § this is left to dry very well before treating the back and sides in the same way. It is a difficult way to make a painting, but the glossy oil paint gives the painting such a special shine and vitality and wood is a material that provides great potential for creativity and therefore her painting are combined with crushed glass, shells, pebbles.. She uses water-based alkyd enamel paint for wood and metal surfaces which is technically challenging and her form of expression is one that comes naturally.