Lucie Svoboda

I was born in 1972 in Liberec, Czech Republic. I have loved to paint and draw since early childhood, and then I got the fantastic opportunity to study at a Glass-making Art School in Železný Brod.

I see my work as a journey. A summation of knowledge from my childhood, events that life has brought me, and every day, sometimes seemingly banal experiences.

These impulses from my childhood were, for example, the big round mirror next to my bed, which from my point of view, sucked me in like a black hole in space and sent me on journeys through cosmic landscapes.

My eye defect led me to a clinic for a few months where, as part of my treatment, it became my own to poke out rhythmic pictures with a needle, dot by dot, every day. You would find this phenomenon mostly in my earlier work.

Circles and dots are one of the distinctive geometric shapes in my paintings: the universe and imaginary worlds. But I also loved depicting butterflies or bugs and insects in my childhood.

A professor in elementary school directed me to art school for glass, which was an absolutely fantastic choice. There, I got training in realistic drawing and the perception of space, and there, I also discovered the magic of glass. I didn't stay with glass, but I feel it got under my skin indelibly.

In my paintings, I need to express depth, transparency, and the play of light; I am very attracted to that.

I consider each of my paintings a kind of DNA carrier, whether from a visual or emotional stimulus. Each of my paintings has its beginning, its sperm and egg :-).

I find my well of inspiration mainly in nature, but emotional - -thought impulses are also a significant source. In my head, or rather my subconscious, I perceive something like a databank of stories, which keeps transmitting.

I paint when I fall asleep and when I get up; it's a constant connection.

I haven't been painting all my life. After graduating from glass school, my travels took me into the tourism industry. For almost 20 years, I worked for an Italian investor who built historic residences - hotels - in the center of Prague.

In 2006, a fateful moment came into my life that clouded my emotions and mental health. I was looking for salvation. I had two small children at that time, and it was at that time that creativity came into play. And after years, I picked up a paintbrush and started to create.

In 2016, I left the so-called certainties behind and threw myself headlong into just paintings. Since then, to my satisfaction, my paintings have found their owners, collectors, and galleries all over the world.