Katerina

I grew up in the Czech Republic, where I studied graphic design and art therapy. I explored different styles, from detailed acrylic and oil paintings of flowers to depictions of girl's faces. After I moved to the US in 2018, I started to attend Mesa College, and in 2021, I completed my studies with an Associate of Arts degree. In 2021 I transferred to UCSD as an undergraduate student in Studio Arts. During my studies, I tried to get more into the art scene in San Diego, where I, for instance, participated in Art Walks in Little Italy or Liberty Station, and also in Laguna Beach. In 2023 I graduated from UCSD, and in the same year, I got a studio in Arts District Liberty Sation. I'm a board member of The San Diego Museum of Art Artists Guild. Magazine SD Voyager published an interview with me in 2020, and another magazine, Canvas Rebel, wrote about me in 2022.

 

Connection with My Spirit

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In my painting, use acrylic as a quick-drying medium that allows me to quickly and spontaneously create many colored layers on the background. In the next step, I calm down and focus on the final subject using ink pen drawings for fine details. Earlier inspirations for objects captured by ink were animals as symbols for patterns of behavior and figures as the embodiment of the inner secret sensitive, idealistic female site.

During the pandemic, I spent most of my time at home. My connection to the outside world became only occasional, and this solitude strengthened my bond with my inner world. My daily experience was mostly limited to the images inside my head. When I finally rejoined the outside world and engaged with social life, these images were suppressed and slowly vanished.

However, this internal link became so important that the reconnection with the outside world and the endeavor to escape from solitude soon turned into an effort to experience this internal liaison again. Whenever I had the opportunity, I sat down with my sketchbook. I allowed my hands to walk freely on the paper, hoping that, in this way, I would be able to reunite with my inner self. Pictures began to emerge from these automatic lines inspired by a surrealistic technique called automatic drawing.

These automatic drawings became the basis for the newest series of paintings. In this spontaneous process of art-making, conscious control is suppressed, and the images become letters from my unconscious mind that I can read when finished. These letters don't have clear messages, but they have a secret that forces me to return to the completed paintings and read them repeatedly.

An essential part of my work are colors. This interest stems from the study of art therapy with its examination of colors and their influence on the human psyche. They are important for my work because they evoke an emotional response in the viewer and can thus become complex carriers of subliminal information. Furthermore, they help to bring to the surface the answers to questions the viewers are currently dealing with.