“I am Flora” Painting

Free spirit artist “She is empowered by feeling of the freedom and keeps her spirit free from any conventions of modern society…” Lara Zhuravska paints wild nature, mostly the birds. She was born in 1977 and bred in Odessa, Ukraine. Her childhood environment in this beautiful country influenced her artistic mind and defined her future art path. She always felt like a person of the World, cosmopolitan, and her fate offered her opportunities to travel a lot and broaden her horizons. New countries and new homes enriched her experience and matched with her inner desire to be always “on the road” and satisfy her irresistible call for freedom. Each new country with new social and cultural codes and simultaneously conventions was a new space to explore and develop for Lara. In her opinion only the animals can live according to the laws of nature and free from the materialistic pressure of the modern society. Lara obtained a master degree in psychology and also has a bachelor of arts degree, and devoted around 10 years to the professional photography. Devotion, artistic experience in different techniques and photography and proper educational background undoubtedly empower her art practice, filling it not only with expressive strokes and amazing graphics, but also with the analytical and psychological insight to the traits of every animal. Being an artist with a psychological background, she draws the seemingly obvious, but reimagined creatures, giving them the new life and breathe with her feelings. In her work Lara follows her inner feelings, allowing most of her art to express the natural emotional state of every animal and, accordingly, her own feelings. In her paintings, semi-abstract images of animals get the new meaning depending on what the viewer perceives them as a character and how he/she feels about them. Her curiosity and constant desire to improve her art practice led her to study various media on her own, such as oil, pastel or acrylic. Lara has always observed and studied animals, looking for the better ways to communicate and interact with them. No wonder that she has developed keen sense of expressing her emotions through art. “Art makes me happy. You can't explain it, but it's just something! I transfer both the perfection and unlimited fantasy of the artist to the audience. Art is not a hobby for me; that’s a way I interact and reflect the world.