I met Nathalie Minerva a year ago when we bumped into each other at this event in Montreal. We instantly connected. At the time I had made a clear decision to leave my day job to pursue my dream career in photography. She was debating quitting her job as well to pursue her art and other fascinating projects. We hung out that whole day, feeding each other with creative ideas and getting each other excited for our projects. I knew this girl was going to break free and do something amazing. It was just a matter of time. Eventually, she came back with a clear idea: painting beautiful canvases, white on white, of waves.
“There is something so poetically powerful about riding waves,” says Nathalie. “You can’t fight them, you can only dance with them, and so I wanted to capture that beautiful serene, but powerful dance the ocean does for us on a regular basis. Painting brings the same kind of peace of mind surfing does. Being forever present in the moment and recreating the motion of the ocean with my paintbrush.”
For Nathalie, painting waves isn’t just about her passion for the ocean and surfing, but also her passion for the environment and raising climate change awareness. With everything happening in the world right now with politics and the ever-ending battle of power over the environment, it’s great to see humans like Nathalie stepping up and creating things that will bring our world together. But if she wanted to push her project with environmental undertones, she needed to learn more about climate change.
I paint forces of nature to create a new wave of awareness towards climate change. I document natural elements that are directly impacted by human action
In March, Nathalie got accepted to become a climate reality leader, trained by no other than Al Gore, with the purpose of learning how to use her voice as a growing artist to educate and constantly remind that we need to take care of our planet and resources. “I paint forces of nature to create a new wave of awareness towards climate change. I document natural elements that are directly impacted by human action,” says Nathalie of her work.
From painting waves to getting mentored by Al Gore, to coming back and sharing her experiences and painting again, you can see the difference and the change in Nathalie’s vision and perception. She’s more aware and now knows the focus of her project, which is important not only to her, but to everyone else who needs nature.
I feel a deep connection with her, and our friendship continues to grow stronger as we inspire each other with our projects and accomplishments. And after watching her paint in her element, I had to ask her what her next series after the waves would be. “After this first series I will continue to paint and illustrate waves but I’d like to explore other forces of nature. To give you a sneak peak, I’d like to work with avalanches, hurricanes and maybe melting icebergs.”
Nathalie’s career is only starting, but her mind is overflowing with new ideas and concepts being brought to life. Follow her adventures on Instagram @nathalieminerva.art and trust me, with all the projects she is and will be doing, you will want to follow her journey!
