2 weeks Ago By Alex Morris
Originally from Slovakia, multidisciplinary artist Natalia Chabadova has been painting since she was 19. Login or signup to continue reading The 34-year-old migrated to Australia eight years ago on a working holiday visa, and she has gone on to enjoy a creative life of travel, funding her journeys by selling art, teaching piano and reading tarot cards. She came to Australia to visit her brother, who was already living here, and instantly fell in love with the country, deciding to make it her home base.
She wasn't familiar with Newcastle until last January when she did a Lighthouse Arts residency on Nobby's Headland . It inspired her to put down some roots. The Lighthouse Arts is an initiative by the Hunter Writers Centre.
Artists of all mediums can apply to work in heritage-listed lighthouse cottages that are surrounded by 360-degree views of ocean, city, land and sky. Chabadova couldn't believe how she felt after her residency. "This Lighthouse Arts residency experience was very transformative, because I had been travelling around the coast (with my partner).
We were seven years in Sydney. We needed more artistic inspiration, so we started to travel beach by beach," she says. "And then we came to Newcastle, and I heard about this Nobby's Lighthouse.
" Since September 2024, she and her partner have rented in Bar Beach, but it's one of several places they call home. The two met in Australia, and he's originally from Brazil, so they regularly visit his family there, where she also exhibits and sells her art. They also go to Slovakia to escape the Australian winter.
Chabadova has exhibited and sold her art across three continents. Since her residency, she's sharing the spirit of Newcastle far and wide. She enjoys telling the story of her home country as well.
"Slovakia is a country of fairy tales for me. It has the most ruins and castles per capita," she says. "It's a very small country, 5 million people, so you can travel quickly, and it has beautiful mountains as well and has four seasons.
"The most interesting for me are the castles. They are a dreamy place. The shape of Nobby's Lighthouse looks like the castle, even the city is Newcastle, so I maybe have it in my subconscious that I'm liking this.
" Now she puts lighthouses in her paintings, and also incorporates cups in her landscapes. She enjoys sipping her coffee and stirring her acrylics; it's cathartic for her. "I was like, 'I'm gonna be brave.
I'm gonna put the cup inside of the painting, even if it's surrealistic," she says. "It's different, right? And I like the message that with my morning coffee, I come to myself, I meditate, I plan, I dream." Chabadova will be in Newcastle until June and then she and her partner will head to Slovakia, followed by Brazil, continuing the art circuit.
Few Novocastrians will be surprised to learn that our city, with its amazing views and early morning coffee culture is inspiring art across the globe. Her cup is full, in every way. Chabadova can be found on Instagram at @Magic.
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