Walking the Dogs Drawing

“Come with me, I’ll take you to the 16th century”, says a modestly looking teenager to several peer pupils; he blindfolds them with scarves and walks down the curvy streets of the Old Town in the midnight silence. He leads them to the shabby yet charming staircase of the unknown old house, still proud of the grandeur of the past, with the impressive glass dome on top, and in the midst of the starry light, says: “Here we are”. Robertas Strazdas was born in 1969 in Vilnius, Lithuania. He started his art studies in the age of 13-14, in extra curriculum classes, in the advanced class of fine arts, and later in Vilnius Evening School of Arts, in the specialty of sculpture. But he prefers to consider himself self-taught. Primitive art, as means of expression, is closest to his nature. The themes and styles of his paintings and drawings are diverse, but, regardless of whether they are serious or witty, you will always notice a distinctive touch of the author. His idols are G. Manzu, C. Brancusi in sculpture, and A. Modigliani, M. Chagall in painting. The author has been actively creating from the last decade of the 20th century in both the fine and applied arts and using various materials and techniques in painting, graphic, sculpture and ceramics. From 2001 he has organised several personal exhibitions and took part in a number of group exhibitions in Lithuania. His graphical works have illustrated the poetry book of the Portuguese Cultural Attaché in Lithuania Nuno Guimaraes – Vieniš(um)as – Solidao, Naujoji Romuva, Vilnius 2010. The Lithuanian National Museum of Art has also purchased some of the author’s works. In 2016, Robertas Strazdas was awarded the status of Lithuanian art creator. Currently, the author lives and creates in Vilnius, Lithuania.