Nike Kama

You describe yourself as a naive artist. What does this term mean to you personally?

I am not an academic artist. I don’t have a formal art education. I rely solely on my inner feelings and intuition. I paint with my emotions, love, and soul. Words play a very important role for me. Often, it is the meaning behind words that inspires me.

Your works are full of color and symbolism. Do specific colors or shapes have particular meanings in your paintings?

Black plays a very important role in my work. I start with a pencil sketch and then trace all the lines in black. Every line drawn on the canvas matters—if it’s there, it was meant to be. I believe that nothing in life happens by accident; everything has meaning.

Black symbolizes the contrast between good and evil and serves as a kind of boundary that keeps colors from blending into chaos. It emphasizes their brightness, individuality, uniqueness, and hue—each color, emotion, and feeling is unique and sparkles like a diamond.

The area covered by colorful paint always overcomes the black. This means that all changes in our life and soul are for the better.

My interpretation of color is very simple. Green represents life. Red is fire. Yellow is always the sun and light. Blue is the sea and the sky.

I believe life shouldn’t be complicated by unnecessary thoughts, doubts, or a search for the supernatural. Everything we need for happiness exists here and now.

Nike Kama | Fish flower Dragon | 2024

You mentioned that you only paint in a good mood and with pure thoughts. How do you prepare yourself before starting a new piece?

Some images come to me in dreams—I see them as paintings. Others appear when I talk about love and emotions. These images emerge in my mind and are enriched by the meaning of words. I write them down immediately so they can fully take shape and reveal their beauty. They wait for their time.

This doesn’t mean that a single image becomes a whole painting—no. It may only be a fragment of one.

What I love most is when a sudden flash of inspiration and a surge of emotion hit me, and I feel the urgent need to rush home and start creating. The work flows quickly—time and space disappear, everything feels like a fog, and there’s no sense of reality.

Since the age of 12, I have practiced keeping my thoughts pure and not letting dirt into my soul. One cannot be “half-clean” or “a little pregnant.” I believe all bad thoughts come either from the devil or from outside forces carried by the wind. I don’t let them enter me.

I believe we should bring beauty and love into the world—something that helps people live, protects them from evil, and warms their hearts.

I can create at any time, but I need solitude and silence.

Many of your paintings feature animals and fantasy creatures. What role do they play in your artistic universe?

Each of us carries within a personal animal spirit that protects us or grants us its unique abilities—like in the Chinese zodiac or the beliefs of Indigenous peoples, where names might be Hawk Eye or Keen Ear.

When I look at people, I can often see or feel the animal spirit that guards them.

As for the fantastical creatures, my hand seems to draw them on its own—or I catch a glimpse of their silhouette on the canvas and simply trace it, later giving it form and depth.

I love animals deeply. As a young child, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian.

Nike Kama | Fish flower Lion | 2024

Esotericism and symbolism are central to your practice. Can you share a symbol from your work that holds special personal power for you?

As a child, I believed that if you chose an object and declared it your amulet or talisman, then placed it under the moonlight, sunlight, or an energy flow, it would charge with power and protect you. Unfortunately, these rituals don’t really work.

I adore runes, and I believe in the power of words and the power of love. I’m convinced that love can be felt everywhere. All my paintings are created with immense love—they are charged with it.

Energy can only be infused during the act of creation. Nothing comes from nothing. My paintings are unique; I never copy them, because you can’t recreate that specific time, feeling, emotion, or moment in which the original was made.

For me, the energy within a painting is incredibly important. I have a constant stream of images and ideas.

My personal strength lies in love and soul. They are eternal.

What do you hope viewers feel when they see your artworks?

I want the viewer to feel happy, to return to their joyful, carefree childhood filled with love. I want people to smile and laugh wholeheartedly.

Nike Kama | Music dragon | 2024

You’ve exhibited your work in cities like Berlin, Paris, New York, and Tokyo. How has international exposure influenced your art?

My first two paintings are now in museums, and negotiations are underway with two more. The paintings have found new homes. I’m receiving more invitations to participate in exhibitions.

My works are being published in catalogs for art collectors. I’ve started collaborating with a renowned organization that operates across three continents and manages art galleries as well as top concert venues for musicians worldwide.

My paintings were exhibited for three months in a museum in China. There are now more opportunities to contribute to charitable causes.

I’m glad that art knows no boundaries and is reaching more and more people.

Artistic prints of my paintings are in high demand.