Mariya Zhukovets

My name is Maria (Marivets), and I'm an artist from Kyiv, Ukraine. I create educational paintings for children, each one holding a hidden world within it — tiny creatures and plants living quietly among the details.


I'm drawn to unique, natural color palettes, believing they play a gentle but meaningful role in shaping a child's perception and aesthetic sense from an early age.
What sets my work apart is the hidden narrative woven into each piece — gentle animals and small meadow creatures nestled among the flora. These stories invite children to slow down, look closer, and notice the small things — nurturing both imagination and attention to detail.


My paintings have found homes in more than a hundred families, not only in Ukraine but also in Germany, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Moldova, and the United States. I also collaborate with interior designers, creating textile prints and book illustrations.


I grew up on a small farm among the forests and fields of the Poltava region in Ukraine, and that early closeness to nature shaped the way I see the world. Even in my school years, the artist I was studying with introduced me to botanical illustration.
Every painting I create is composed like a floral arran...