Natalia Matveeva

Welcome

I’m glad you’ve come to my website. Here you’ll find my recent works in which I explore space, light, and everyday subjects. I hope you enjoy what you see.

Since childhood, drawing has been my way to see the world and touch it. Later it became a quiet language that let me speak about what I feel without using words.

I’m interested in how space, light, and air become a feeling of presence — whether it’s an empty field, an old wall, or the barely noticeable movement of a cloud. In a landscape I look not only for a view, but for a mood, and for how simple forms can hold a lot.

I work in both drawing and painting. I love the precision of the line and the density of black in linocut, the roughness of charcoal and graphite. In oil, color appears — the volume of air, the ability to speak softer and slower, letting the paint tell the story on its own.

I keep learning — trying new techniques and materials, staying close to those who live by art. I want to show my works beyond a small circle, to receive feedback and grow — gradually moving away from superfluous detail toward a clear, precise image, so the viewer can simply find themselves inside it.

Urban Landscape

This series shows the beauty of moments that city dwellers have almost stopped noticing. Whether it’s a medieval street or a modern residential block, every corner has its own poetry of form and color. These paintings try to capture the instant when the city stops being just a background and becomes part of a living, changing world.

There is a lot of color, light, and geometry in the series — facades, pavements, and rooflines come together into a rhythm similar to breathing. It’s a view of the city without haste, with attention to details and simple things that create a sense of home and comfort.

Venice

Venice is one of my favorite cities, a place I always want to return to. Each time it opens up in a new way: in the soft morning light or in the reflections of evening lights on the water. Time seems to slow here, letting you see every detail, hear the city breathe, and feel its special mood.

In these paintings Venice is not touristy or ornate, but alive and a little thoughtful. The city seems to dissolve in color, leaving a feeling of calm and light that stays with you even after your eyes move away from the canvas.

Côte d’Azur

The Côte d’Azur attracts me with its calm atmosphere. The sea sets the rhythm of the day here, the light falls softly, and the sound of the waves seems to wash away unnecessary thoughts. It’s a place I want to return to, to feel that simple ease and warmth again.

In this series I paint waves, seaside cafés, and people who are in no hurry. There’s something very simple and cozy in each scene: sunlight on the water, the shadows of umbrellas, quiet conversations at tables. I want to keep these moments on canvas so I can come back to them at any time.

Windows

Windows in my paintings are always a boundary: a thin, almost invisible line between “here” and “there,” between one’s own room and another world. They separate warmth and cold, silence and street noise, the present and what happens beyond the horizon. Sometimes this boundary protects, hiding us from rain and from eyes; sometimes it beckons, promising freedom with one movement of the hand.

An open window erases the barrier, lets in the wind of change and the smells of distant roads. A closed one leaves us alone with ourselves, with reflections in the glass and the shadows of memories. For me, the window is an eternal threshold — a place where the familiar ends and the unknown begins, where the viewer pauses, asking: to cross or to stay.

Suburban Landscape

For a modern city-dweller, true wild nature is often out of reach — it’s far away and there’s rarely enough time for it. But more and more I notice that the suburbs of big cities give a real sense of communion with nature. Here trees, bushes, and grass come almost right up to the houses, and the neat lines of avenues or park paths don’t interfere with that feeling.

In my suburban landscapes I try to show this very closeness: small houses don’t dominate, but quietly exist among the greenery. Simple paths, benches, and straight rows of plantings only hint at human presence and don’t break the natural rhythm. For me this is a border space — a place where the city is already ending and nature begins to truly speak.

Interiors

In my works I aim to convey not just rooms, but the atmosphere and mood of a space. I’m interested in how light, shadow, and textures create a feeling of presence and comfort, making each interior feel alive.

I pay close attention to details: furniture, objects, and accessories become part of the composition and tell their own stories. Through interiors I reveal the character and inner world of imagined inhabitants, inviting the viewer into these quiet corners of life.

Still Life

In my still lifes I more often observe the existing arrangement of objects than create it artificially. I catch moments when form, color, and light come together into a harmonious composition and try to convey that natural beauty on canvas.

Simple things — fruit, flowers, books, dishes — gain character and emotion when I notice them. It’s important to me that the viewer can pause, look closely at the details, and feel the aesthetics of the moment I managed to capture.

Finland

Once we spent a vacation in a secluded cabin in Finland — and there I found a rare combination of inspiration and free time. Quiet forests, clear lakes, and the soft northern light seemed to offer subjects on their own. I simply watched and let nature speak for itself.

This series brings together oil and watercolor works created in that special mood of silence and focus. In them are the freshness of morning walks, the sound of rain on a wooden roof, and the sense of secluded peace that is so hard to catch in everyday life.

People and Animals

In this series I create portraits of people and pets, considering each subject on their own. It’s important for me to catch the character, the mood, and that barely noticeable edge that makes an image feel alive — whether it’s a glance, the line of the shoulders, or a slight movement.

I observe the individuality of each model and try to convey it in a pure way, without excessive staging. These portraits are an attempt to capture the moment when outer appearance becomes a reflection of the inner world.

Neuried

This series is about my small town that I see every day — and every time a little differently. I’m interested in its ordinary, almost unnoticed life: familiar streets, intersections, facades, evening lights in the windows, pauses between passersby, and the calm rhythm that is hard to put into words.

I try to show Neuried honestly and simply, as a place where the town remains human and understandable. In these works, inspiration hides not in events but in repeating details that suddenly become expressive and important.