Olga Nikitina

Contemporary Painter and Underwater Artist

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Olga Nikitina is a contemporary painter whose practice explores the relationship between perception, movement and the natural environment. Working both underwater and in the studio, she creates expressive oil paintings inspired by marine life, the ocean, landscapes and the diverse cultural environments she has encountered through travel.

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Born in Chuhuiv, Ukraine, and raised and educated in Russia, Nikitina studied fine art in Ulyanovsk from 1995 to 2000 before graduating in Interior Design from Ulyanovsk State University in 2006. Her multidisciplinary background informs her sensitivity to composition, colour, space and visual structure.

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Nikitina began scuba diving in 2008 and moved to Egypt in 2015, where she worked as a diving instructor. In 2016, at Shams Safaga Diving Center on Egypt’s Red Sea coast, she began developing her distinctive underwater painting practice. Working directly on canvas while immersed in the sea, she initially painted through observation, translating the forms and colours of the underwater world into visual compositions.

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Over time, this process evolved into a more intuitive and conceptual approach. Rather than simply documenting marine life, Nikitina seeks to capture the atmosphere of a particular underwater moment: the rhythm of moving fish, the shifting light, the sensation of immersion and the relationship between the artist and her environment. Water becomes more than a setting for artistic production; it actively shapes the experience and perception from which the work emerges.

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For Nikitina, the underwater environment offers a distinctive mode of perception, in which familiar ideas of space, movement and reality are transformed. Through her paintings, she invites viewers to experience something of this altered perspective and to encounter the ocean not merely as a subject to observe, but as an environment to feel.

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Alongside her underwater practice, Nikitina develops an extensive body of studio paintings in oil, often using expressive palette-knife techniques and richly textured surfaces. Her subjects extend beyond marine life to include the South African Sardine Run, coral reefs, seascapes, landscapes, flowers and other encounters with the natural world. Travel and residence in different countries—including Egypt, Thailand, Mexico and South Africa—have shaped her visual language and broadened the cultural and environmental references within her work.

 

Now based in Howick, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, Nikitina draws particular inspiration from the Sardine Run, the extraordinary annual movement of sardines along the South African coast. This experience informs paintings concerned with collective movement, energy, transformation and the complex relationships between marine species and their environment.

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Her practice also reflects a sustained interest in ocean awareness and conservation. Through painting, she seeks to communicate the beauty, fragility and dynamism of marine ecosystems, creating an emotional connection between viewers and the underwater world.

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In addition to her artistic practice, Nikitina developed an underwater painting course for divers and registered it with PADI as a Distinctive Specialty. She continues to develop her own educational programme under her brand, drawing on her experience as a diving instructor and her knowledge of the practical and artistic challenges of painting underwater.

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Nikitina’s work has been presented in exhibitions and art events in South Africa, Egypt, the United States, Switzerland and Russia, and her practice has been featured in international art and diving publications. Her work brings together contemporary painting, direct experience of the natural environment and an ongoing exploration of how art can communicate forms of perception that are difficult to express through words alone.

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Selected Exhibitions

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Solo Exhibition

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2017 — Underwater Life, Shams Safaga, Egypt

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Selected Group Exhibitions and Art Events

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2026 — Art in the Country, South Africa
2026 — Art in the Country Coastal, South Africa
2025 — Fields of Perception, Art Voyage Gallery
2025 — Art in the Country, South Africa
2023 — Underwater Expressions, DEMA, New Orleans, USA
2023 — Miami Art Week, Artbox Projects, USA
2021 — Visual Expressions, George Museum, South Africa
2021 — In the Clouds, Cabesa Gallery, Wilderness, South Africa
2020 — Swiss Art Expo, Artbox Project, Zurich, Switzerland
2019 — Underwater Life of the Red Sea, DEMA, Orlando, USA
2018 — Underwater Creatures, Moscow Dive Show, Russia

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Selected Publications and Features

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2026 — Marine Inspiration, Victionary
2022 — Collectors’ Art Book, Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art

2022 --- The Artlink, Very Peri: Bring Home The 2022 Pantone Color of the Year
2021 — Artist interview, Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art
2021 — Artist portfolio, X-Ray Magazine
2020 — Malkurs für Taucher, Tauchen Magazine
2020 — Underwater Painting, ARTBOX.PUBLISH, Switzerland
2019 — Artist feature, Singulart Magazine
2019 — Artist feature, Unterwasserwelt.de
2019 — Artist feature, Taucher.net
2018 — Artist feature, Tourist magazine

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For further information about Olga Nikitina’s practice, exhibitions and available artworks, please explore the portfolio and artwork collections on this website.