Meet Zoriana Lylo-Otkovych | Artist, historian and art expert, designer, owner of the KOLO Art studio

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zoriana Lylo-Otkovych and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoriana, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
In my case, it could not be otherwise. I was born and raised in an artistic family. My father was a famous artist, my uncle was an art critic, and my aunt was also an artist. From an early age, I saw paintings on the walls and many books about art around me. I visited all the museums in our city several times. It’s worth mentioning here that I was born in the beautiful medieval city of Lviv in Ukraine. The central part of the city is a large open-air museum. It has wonderful architecture and great artistic traditions. There are several art schools in the city. My father was an authoritative figure in deciding my future profession. Since childhood, I loved to draw everything I saw around me. My father taught me to see beauty and harmony in everything – even in ordinary things. He taught me art history, color science, and the basics of composition. When I grew up, I went to study at an art college in my city, where I graduated with a degree in painting, drawing, composition and artistic weaving. After that, I went to study in the capital city of Kyiv at the Academy of Arts to become a historian and art expert. It was an invaluable experience. My teachers were famous art historians and artists. As students, we had the opportunity to listen to interesting lectures by famous scientists and see unique art rarities. When I was still a student, I took part in a famous art exhibition for the first time. At that time, I was engaged in artistic weaving and created tapestries. My mini-tapestry even won an award at a competition. It was a source of pride for me. I wove a lot of tapestries and carpets and I liked it. But it required a lot of time and special tools. The threads used for weaving produced dust and it caused coughing. So I had to stop this hobby. After that, I was engaged in scientific research and worked as a restorer of historical rarities. That’s why you can see a lot of ancient motifs in my work.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Throughout my creative life and my professional growth, I am constantly acquiring new skills. I love to learn, observe, and apply something new in my creative work. My family loves to travel, and in every country I see some new and interesting culture, from where I get a new impulse for inspiration. I am a historian and expert in ancient art. I have written a lot of many scientific publications on the preservation and popularization of works of art and culture, as well as books about artists. I am also a graphic artist and an artist of decorative and applied arts. My creative works are mainly made in mixed media. I use canvas, cardboard, plywood for the base. The technique of painting on glass is especially pleasant to work with (you need to paint on the back). Interesting to use a variety of materials and new author’s techniques. I can use everything I see around me for my works. For example, pieces of interesting fabrics, lace, wood, small stones, dried herbs, hot glue, different cords that I draw myself in the color I need. A special and wonderful addition to the artwork is the use of gilding and silvering. Sometimes my works are decorated with texts that explain the painted picture. They create an additional decor. They can be romantic or funny or instructive. My creative works border on graphic art and decorative and applied art. I often use motifs from Ukrainian folk art, integrating them into contemporary art. My artworks are dominated by motifs of nature and its state. Drawing flowers, grasses and trees (especially tree crowns and their natural graphics) is something that fascinates me. It’s like drinking pure water when you can find the harmony of line and color in grasses and flowers, trying to convey their texture with different means. While walking or traveling, I see some interesting grasses, plants or trees and immediately make sketches. Later, at home, the style and colors are chosen.
Very often, when I start painting, I don’t know what will happen in the end, what the result will be. And often, it is unexpected. I like that and the process of work.
I can divide my work into periods, as is the case with all artists. It depends on many factors. The most interesting period for me is the last one. My style of painting and coloring became different after I came to the United States. The surrounding nature amazed me. So many colors and different plants, it’s breathtaking! Therefore, the colors themselves change in my imagination. I want to convey the energy of the ocean and the smell of strange beautiful fragrant flowers around, the tension of the sky before a storm and its calmness at sunset. And many more new things that await me here.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For my best friend, of course, everything that I think is the most interesting and best. I love San Diego and I have a few favorite places. That’s where I would take my friend. My tour would start with historical sites. And we would go to Old Town, which is the oldest area in San Diego and the site of the first European settlement in modern California. I love this bright historical place with colorful little markets where you can buy beautiful traditional souvenirs. And, of course, to have dinner at one of the best Mexican restaurants “Casa Guadalajara” and listen to incendiary Mexican music and even dance. The next stop will be Balboa Park, one of the oldest parks in the United States, founded in 1835 and later declared a nationally significant landmark district. Here you can spend hours looking at the magnificent architecture presented in the Spanish colonial style and explore interesting museums. By the way, there is a small town in this park where cultures of different nations are represented. There is also a Ukrainian House here. A few years ago, when I was in the United States for my first visit, I and my friends Iryna and Orysia from the Ukrainian community created a new modern exposition for this house, which is still there. My creative thematic works are also on display.Next, we would travel to La Jolla village and La Jolla Cove. To see the museum of modern art, architecture and have lunch at my favorite restaurant “Valencia” with a great view of the ocean. Cabrillo is the next destination. There you can feel like you are on the edge of the world. I love looking at the lighthouse. And, of course, Coronado. It has a great beach and an interesting famous historical landmark – a wooden hotel. There you can enjoy delicious ice cream with various additions. And finally, my favorite place that I recently discovered is Villa Montezuma. This luxurious Victorian house-museum built in 1887, located in the historic Sherman Heights neighborhood of San Diego, was the home of pianist and spiritualist Jesse Shepard. This house is very special to me. At the beginning of the year, I had an interesting meeting with California State Senator Emeritus Ben Hueso, who was organizing an art project in support of Ukraine and invited me to participate in it. Soon after, a show dedicated to Ukraine took place, featuring Ukrainian artists. Until now, Villa Montezuma has exhibited four of my works, “Seasons”. It is a source of pride for me. You can have a good beer in the local pub. I think my friend will enjoy the trip and fall in love with San Diego as much as I did.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As I said earlier, I owe my creative growth to my father. It is to him that I would like to dedicate this interview. He was a wonderful father, teacher and artist. Unfortunately, he died recently and I miss his advice, conversations, drinking coffee together… He always knew what I needed and how he could help me. It was as if he had a special X-ray machine for me. I remember his words: help others, but do not expect it in return, just help. This became my rule of life. He told me: to just create. By the way, my brother is also an artist and my cousin is an artist. It’s a whole artistic family. Together we did various art projects and it was interesting. My family was patiently watching all this. I couldn’t have done it without them either – my husband, son, and daughter support all my eccentricities as much as they can. Sometimes it can be difficult to combine family affairs with art. My artworks are like my children, who also require attention. Very often, when I am asked to sell a painting, I can’t do it. It seems that this painting is about to cry because it doesn’t want to leave me. My daughter Dzvinka, who, by the way, also wants to be an artist, is my first art critic. It’s so convenient. I appreciate her opinion. Another important part of my life is my friends. They created a whole fan club to support me. They go to my all the exhibitions, do publicity. I love them! And a few more words about my students. For a long time I taught painting, art history, and museum history at the Ivan Trush College of Decorative and Applied Arts in my hometown of Lviv, Ukraine. It was an invaluable experience. We had a mutual exchange of emotions and knowledge. We created together. Their positive feedback on my classes gave me strength and self-confidence. I had the same pleasant experience of communication when I held classes in my art studio KOLO (which means circle in English). We painted, made collages; used a variety of materials for our artwork. Sometimes, these were completely unexpected materials that later gave a good result. For example, broken dishes, fruit packaging, pieces of old textured fabrics. It’s fun. It’s like recharging my life batteries. This is Art therapy. I think that loving life and communicating with people through art is great. It prolongs life for many more years.

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Image Credits
All photos provided are from the home photo library