My friends call me Mirule. I am 43 years old, have two children – a ten-year-old girl Kaja and an eight-year-old boy Honzík. I also have a funny husband called Bobin. We live in Mělník. I work as a graphic editor for the magazine “Mommy” of the Czech News Centre publishing house. I love Pilates, yoga, dancing, reading exciting books, watching movies and lying on the couch by the fireplace. First, I was scared of painting. Although I have art education (I studied graphic design at the High School of Arts and Crafts in Zizkov), I always expressed myself by drawing only. But making an oil painting where turpentine or oil is used as a thinner was inconceivable to me. Once, my sister-in-law Silvie gave me a set of oil paints for Christmas. I left them in a drawer for ten years. But once, when I was on parental leave, I said to myself I would try to paint something with oil paints. It was shocking. The paints behaved unexpectedly, and turpentine destroyed my plastic bowls. I just taught it all the trial-error method. I’ve been painting for about two years. Pencil drawing is still the most pleasant and natural thing for me. The time when I prefer to paint is the time when I feel physically well, which is not always the case. It was my friend who told me about the project. I was given an opportunity to create something according to a specific assignment, and I also took the size of the painting as a challenge. I had not painted anything that big, except the walls of our house, before.

I was born 40 years ago in Prague where my wonderful Mum gave me birth at the Hospital U Apolináře.

In my childhood I grew up in an aesthetic and very creative environment where everybody cared about cultural education.

So, in addition to drawing and painting classes in art schools, I learned to be a ballet dancer. However, I could not tolerate such a terror bordering on militarism. I was rather attracted to free forms of artistic expression. However, my parents had a vision of me not becoming only a Bohemian, which I am, but they also wanted me to stand firmly on the ground.

They convinced me that I should study architecture and thus understand how things work technically and technologically. It was sometimes tiresome, but when a little 4 D object grew under my hands, I realized that even hours spent by drawing something as simple as a vapour-proof foil under the roof had some meaning.

After studying the high school of industrial arts, where they taught me how to solve design of furniture or how to build a stage in a theatre but also how to drink beer and smoke cigarettes and other things, I found it reasonable to continue in those studies and quit the others things.

I continued to study architecture at Prof. Pelcl at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design where I learned more than just parts of architecture. There are many disciplines that you can try, so besides designing all kind of houses and airports and other projects, I also tried to draw an act, make a sculpture, or work with porcelain. During my studies I also spent a semester in Stockholm, where it was dark and cold a lot and great coffee.

After I completed my university studies, I worked for many nice clients mainly in the field of exhibitions, interior design, residential houses and retail.

Well, but then I trusted one Spaniard, left everything here and went pregnant with him to Germany. You do not want to know what followed, but it definitely brought me something – I started to paint from despair. At first, I thought it was just a therapy for me, but in the end it became a passion for me to reveal creation itself. Since then I´ve known that problems crystallize our characters. Well, they can if you want to. This is how I see it.

I paint whenever I have time and space, and especially peace. I make a contact with the higher something in us or around us, and then I forget about time, I do not know that I am hungry or thirsty, I just ride the wave.

I like this project most probably because I could try a new technique to put the graphic font into an abstract painting, and secondly, the money from sale of my painting may help somebody. Of course, also for my passion for painting and the desire for the public to see the picture. I was also convinced by Mr. Turek, who is so excited about the theme of the Magic Square, although I am personally more attracted to the symbol of the Flower of Life.

• Painter (*1953 Praha)
• Graduated from SUPŠ
• Live and work in Prague and Hýskov
• Freelance painter since 1975
• Organised 86 individual exhibitions all over the world from 1976 to 2018
• Largest permanent exhibition of 110 paintings in Taipei, Taiwan
• Largest painting (2x6m) is in the concert hall in Zingst, Germany
• Most expensive painting Bambini di Praga is in the study of Arkansas Governor
• The most frequent theme are portraits combined with architecture and abstract paintings

I was born in Prague on March 24, 1962. Now I live and create my works near Prague, in my country house and studio in Čečelice. Since my school years, I have been nicknamed Mac. I studied natural sciences, and ultimately my life was most influenced by nature and rock climbing that I did from the age of 17. My life is a revolt against conventions, hypocrisy. I have always been interested in emotions, spiritual principles, natural laws and adventures. Nature has brought me into contact with truth, taught me respect and humility.

If I decided to go another way in my life, then I would definitely choose arts. I always enjoyed music, architecture, and during my life I also did design and makeovers of attic apartments and interiors. The biggest breakthrough in my life came with a serious spine surgery that made me unable to devote myself fully to my greatest love and passion – rock climbing. Suddenly I was standing at a crossroads how to fulfil my life purposefully. I was thinking how to make advantage of the ideas that had been in my head for decades and I wanted to transfer them on canvas, but not just there. I was hindered by my doubts if it is possible to break through to a field which I did not study, whether it was not too late to start looking for my own artistic direction. As it is often in life, there is nothing like coincidence. Therefore, I met the right people at the right time and they supported me in my decision. And because I’m courageous, I break myths and realize that the only limitations exist only in our head, I started … with joy, lightness, and fantasies of my own.

In terms of composition and colours, I work with an intuitive thought concept, I explore all directions and follow my feelings. I have a sense of detail. Some of my paintings can appeal to you with a minimalist concept. I mainly paint with oil paints and experiment with different kinds of colours. I use the layering principle because creating structures creates plasticity and depth that gives space to my unconventional painting.

I have no ambition to compare myself with the masters of my craft. Yet, with openness, cordiality, uncomplicated attitude and healthy self-confidence, I open the gates to galleries and, above all, to human souls. You will find not only pictures in my work, but also the artistic representation of various objects as well as art lighting of interiors. My inventions have no boundaries. I have a lot of ideas in my head that I’m going to implement. If you can feel the joy and freedom of my work, if you stop and escape the stereotype of everyday life, if you smile and your eyes start shining, then everything I have created makes sense.

Born as Zivcakova (* 1979)

She graduated from the High School of Jan Adam at Rayman School in Presov in 2001. Then she completed her university degree at the University of Presov, Faculty of Humanity and Natural Sciences as a teacher of general education combined with creative education and ethics in 2004. Between 2007 and 2016 she worked as a professor assistant at the Department of Fine Arts at the Institute of Music and Creative Arts at the Philosophical Faculty at the University of Presov. She is interested in painting, jewellery, pottery, interior-, graphic- and clothing- design. Last but not least, she does not object acting as an assessor and curator. She also joins charity projects and cultural activities, workshops, leisure time activities and creative workshops. She is a member of the Gallery of Saris in Presov. She presents her work at domestic, international and foreign events.

He studied graphics at the High School of Decorative Arts in Kosice between 1982 and 1986. Then he continued his studies at the UPJS PdF in Presov, Department of Art Education in the Russian language from 1986 to 1991. Since 1992 he has been working as  a teacher at the Primary School of Arts in Presov. In his pedagogical work, he also devotes his time and effort to children’s creative expression, and he organizes courses for adults. In his creative work, he paints, does graphics, graphical design, but also creates various objects and installations. He exhibits his work in Slovakia and abroad.

After her studies at the High School of Arts in Prague, she went to Great Britain and continued to study the College of Fashion Design. After thirteen years of travelling all over the world, she settled down in her native city of Chomutov and started to paint and make pottery with her mum in their studio.

Her most favourite hobby are her dogs Ruzenka and Emicka and the time spent with her mum in their studio with a glass of white wine.

Motto: IF THERE IS SOME TROUBLE, IF YOU WORRY YOU MAKE IT DOUBLE.

I used to work as a nurse in various wards (such as pulmonary out-patient ward etc.) before I begun painting. I sewed, knitted, read, did some gardening and skiing. In the 1960s I started to ride a bicycle to discover more of the world around me. I started to paint when I was 66 because I was desperate and bored with my retirement. I did not know what to do with my free time. So, when I was going from an English lesson, I saw a flyer for a course of painting called “Learn to look around…”. So, I told myself that I would try it although I had never done it before. I create my works of art by various techniques, but I like watercolours, pastels, and oil-colours on the canvas the most. I search for inspiration in nature. It is wonderful, colourful, and full of variations. It has its own magic. When I am painting, I need to be in harmony, have a good mood and be especially happy. My son brought me to the project “Magic Square”. Maybe, he wanted to be proud of me that I have managed something. If I had given it up, he may have put me in old people’s home.

I am an amateur artist who work for her own joy.

I come from Chomutov and work as a bank clerk. I am accompanied by a small group of animals through my life. I love travelling, cycling and good food.

In my work, I especially focus on graphics, woodblock printing and colour linotype print. I did not create anything actively several years after my studies of ethics and art education. As means of expression. I love using expressiveness in any form.

I was born in Prerov in 1988 and quite shortly after that I realized I wanted to become a painter. I studied painting and now I have a Master of Arts degree.

After one becomes familiar with how to display reality, studies a school of arts and must start to do something to earn money for life, a testing space for what and why to paint appears. In my paintings, I find answers to my long-term questions which we all probably ask, e.g. Does God exist, or not? What is the primary meaning of life? What is really important, what not? I embody these answers into my works more or less successfully. I trust in God, in his existence and leadership, that we grow in trust in Him, that we have free will, and he loves us. I have discovered that if I become only a tool of His leadership from above, then everything is streaming into the right place. I believe from my personal experience and this paining with the theme of luck and happiness points to the principle that luck is a way. It is a way how we walk day by day through our life. It is very important to catch and hold the miracle of life responsibly. I participated in this project because I was captivated by the influence of Mr. Turek and the fun which can be around this project.

I lived in a children home in Vysoka Pec since I was 4 years old. Now I am 19 and I study the High School of Hotel Management in Udlice. I am in the 3rd form and next year I must take a graduation exam. Since the age of 18 I have been living in a council flat in Jirkov. I like music very much. I started to attend a school of arts in Jirkov when I was 8 years old. I play the piano and later I also tried dulcimer.

I represented my children home at piano competitions for several years. Music is my hobby, and I like to play even today. This is why I added some musical motives to my painting quite automatically.

I like doing sports in my free time and also have temporary jobs to earn some money. I would like to get a driving licence. I hope to achieve this wish quite soon. My second wish is to successfully pass the graduation exam.

I discovered my talent in a public school of arts (in Czech slang “Liduska”) with Liduska (girl´s name).  I will not disclose more. Mining north of Bohemia placed me to the mostly technical environment. I found a counterbalance in photography. I worked in a printing works and learned how to bind books manually and become familiar with computer graphics. I documented a painting symposium at Benedict. My escape of an artist to activities without electronics has absorbed me to such a level that I even prepare and stretch my canvases. Well, and then I cover them with paints, using especially a spatula with which I create not only the painting, but also a structure on the canvas. There are more than sixty pictures that decorate various spaces. I had a sales exhibition in the Most Café in 2017.
My motto is, “Do not paint what they can take a picture of, but let them take a picture of what you have painted”.

I am a painter and graphic artist. I am an author of Czech and foreign film posters, e.g. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Terminator, Burning Mississippi, etc. I am also an author of covers of many books, very advanced medical illustrations and of many more applied graphics. I am creating on my own will at the moment. My paintings and digital graphics hang in modern interiors of buildings, hotels, company offices and luxurious residencies. When I agree with my client, I also paint specifically for a certain interior. For each artwork I issue a certificate that declares its originality. I am a member of the Union of Artists of the Czech Republic and a member of the International Association of Art IAA / AIAP. My paintings and graphics are in collections of celebrities and can be found in private collections in CZ, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden and also in the USA. I joined the Magic Square project because I like mysteries and mystique, but also because I believe that this project will be interesting for the visitors of the exhibition, which proved right at the first exhibition in Chomutov.

I was born in southern Bohemia. I am 17 years old and I am studying the High School of Horticulture at the moment. I like it, but I like painting best. When I have some free time, even breaks at school, I devote it to painting. Thanks to this school, which joined the project of Pure Bohemia s.r.o., I could participate in the project of Magic Square. My teacher Bc. Jarmila Adamova recommended me. During the whole I has guidance from Mr. Roman Kuricaj, a pedagogical assistant, who himself likes painting. He gave me valuable advice, taught me a new painting technique, and his wife and he especially created an environment for me in their home where I could paint. I must thank to Pure Bohemia, Mr. Roman Kuricaj and his wife Jane, Mrs. Ivana Dudkova, and Mrs. Jarmila Adamova for allowing me to get a chance to participate in the project.

I create my paintings so that they are beautiful (according to an Indian idea). They must serve people and should be energetic radiators. I create with love.

I am self-student. I develop myself, I learn and step forward. I see my way in personal growth. I love creativity, drawing, painting, wood, flying through my phantasies and I love work with intuition for all my life. I have been creating since I could hold a pencil. Drawing and painting is as breathing for me. You can stop breathing just for a short while. As pee, sooner or later you must go and release it. I have been painting since I was little, but it took me some time to find my own right place. Firstly, when I try to remember the reason why I started drawing, it was finding a way to express my philosophy and the desire to know what is behind materia. This is what I have had since my childhood. Why I started with illustrations? I wanted to see beautiful things, something joyful for myself, my children, and other people in difficult periods of their life. Strangely enough, I started to paint pictures which were funny, joyful and ambiguous when I was struggling with some hardship in my life. I started painting with oil paints a few years ago again. I needed to go further from specific lines and shapes of illustrations, more towards abstraction, to cancel that hard line, the frontiers inside me. For 20 long years I used colour pencils. We can look at colour pencils as they are meant for children only, but I never felt so. It never hurt me. I returned to oil-painting in the last few years. It helped me to break my internal frontiers. It is strange to admit it but my inspiration comes to me through feelings, specific perception and also through the information regarding quant physics, mystics, etc. For example, when I am painting a particular person, I try to connect with him/her through my empathy, and the colours and shapes come to me.  I especially create at night when everybody is sleeping. Then, it is time for me to create and fly. Yes, we are all influenced by rhythms of the nature, seasons of the year and other space and earth rhythms. Our ancestors in all civilisations and nations were in accordance with these rhythms, they worked with them, they knew about them. Most of people in Central Europe do not know about them, and/or they do not work with them but it does not matter. These impacts of energy are here even though we are not aware of them. In this project, I was really interested in the possibility of creating a numeral chart and numbers. I have always been interested in numerology, and the magic square relies on it very much. I was excited about the chance to express ancient times and the idea of a square in painting. I was thrilled that these things will be seen by many people. The painting I made is quite daring and wild for me, but I felt the urge to let leave certain shapes and forms without an error and touch the whole passion of space and life, to go back in time in my painting, maybe up to the creation of the Earth.

I left my hometown Chomutov when I was 19 years old. Then I lived in Prague, Brno, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Poland. Now I live and create in Chomutov again. I am single with two children.

I come from Serbia. I work as a teacher at the School of Arts in Molde in Norway. During my first visit to Prague I made photos of graffiti which originally served me as a theme for my composition. When I painted numbers, I discovered that it was chaos. I had to rework that chaos into an original. Suddenly, I saw a bull in my composition. So I decided to highlight it, because it is my zodiac sign and also the main character of my favourite fairy tale from my childhood.

I accept intimacy and the value of a human body and at the same time I try to bring privacy and trust in my paintings. I also work with aesthetic experience, visualisation and imagination of people. I mostly paint nudities, space and various objects. I often use symbols in my paintings, too. With visualisation of such a symbol, I highlight what the given person does, likes, and what fulfils him or her. Symbols represent realistic concepts, spontaneity and child’s infant trail. They also express a kitsch, which I like to add to my works. My effort is make a work of art that is eye-catching and tries to impress people through the targeted sentimentality. I also like to experiment and use geometric shapes in my paintings. I enjoy playing with colours and techniques that can make my painting better.

I started to paint four years ago and it is my big hobby today. I paint everything what I like. I mostly use oil paints, oil pastels and also like trying new techniques. Another great hobby of mine is making pottery, especially work on a throw. Doing these activities, I relax in my studio. Sometimes, my daughter Gábina, who is also exhibiting a painting of the Magic Square, joins me.

I am a Slovak artist, painter, lecturer and art therapist. I live and work in Prague. In my work I especially focus on abstract expressive oil-painting. I like to discover new ways and approaches to creation. I regularly organize workshops of art therapy for children and adults, where in accordance with their own world perception, I apply art work as non-violent kind of human transformation. I am also interested in live performance painting in interaction with music and dance. I studied painting at academic painter Dusan Srvatka and Mgr. Art. Prokipa Kolysnik. I deeply believe that art has a healing power. I present my works at individual and also collective exhibitions in Slovakia, Czech Republic, United Kingdom, Germany and also in the United States of America. My works are included in individual collections all around the world. Besides painting I love my family and especially my son Liam. My motherhood taught me humility. My husband and I are really aware of that our son makes us better, more present, more sensitive every day. I am grateful for my family and my artwork and also art therapy job. I realize that I live the way that I have always wanted to live.  When I am not painting, I love to spend most of my time with my family and friends. We like traveling and or we just take things easy, barbeque and talk. Prague is wonderful because when you wake up in the morning and decide to see some art in the evening, you always have plenty of possibilities. As a teenager, I always wanted to be an artist and I had various romantic ideas about the life and work of an artist, which were mostly about painting at night with a glass of wine in my hand. I loved biographies of famous people. I often read tragic stories of Bohemian artists at the end of 19th century. Now I know that artists cannot stop working on their talent, and that they must continue to look for new ways, possibilities, work on their technique and personality. Then they may expect that piece of luck that can push them to new opportunities. Painting is a process. I often have a feeling that the painting is finished. Then, I leave its first version to dry on the stand. And very often, it needs to mature, so after a few days or weeks I come back to it and finish it with a stroke of my brush or I even paint it all over.   In my abstract works I see life, dreams and imaginations, wind on the roads. The biggest inspiration for me is the life itself, every human, children, loves, my dreams, and my wanders across my inner landscape. My secret recipe for luck is to live now and in gratitude. I perceive every life situation, even if it is a difficult one, as a lesson, and I try to understand why it came to my life. I also try to be honest to myself and kind to others.

/13 years old/

I´ve been living in Molde, situated on the west coast of Norway, for all my life. My Mummy comes from Slovakia and my Daddy from the Czech Republic. I´ve always liked drawing and painting. I began to study a school of arts when I was in the 3rd class of primary school. I really enjoyed it. I must thank my very handy teacher Vladana for this. I still attend the school and want to continue. I like to draw anatomy and other thinks, such as i.e. landscape, with pencil best. Sometimes I like to experiment with water colours. I am mostly inspired by my teacher Vladana and/or I search ideas on the Internet, especially Pinterest. Also my own fantasy is a source of inspiration for me.

When I heard that I was supposed to paint a picture, I was excited and though what to paint. Finally, I decided for a sunset because I have always enjoyed painting this theme since my early years at school. I really enjoyed painting the picture. I have already taken part in small exhibitions here in Molde in Norway. For me, a 13-year-old schoolgirl, it was a big honour to participate in such an interesting project the Magic Square is. My parents and my friends often tell me that my picture gives them energy and is very optimistic. I also attend lessons of ballet and modern dancing, lessons of guitar, and I take care of my parrot. What I mostly liked about my composition was painting the numbers. It was also exciting because my teacher Vladana at the school of arts gave me new paints, so I had a chance to get familiar and experiment with acrylic colours and explore which of them belongs together and which not.

Zbynek is especially known as a singer. Since he won the national reality show SUPERSTAR, he has been a professional singe for eleven years at home and abroad. He has a big passion lately – painting. He has had an opportunity to exhibit his works at his exhibition in Karlovy Vary, where he was born, but also together with signers Martin Maxa, Frantisek Ringo Cech or with Eva Pilarova at the festival Febiofest. Painting is for him one of the possibilities of expression himself and a great relax and fun.

I am a mother, daughter, friend, partner, children coach, mistress and counsellor, but mostly I am a woman. I love… I love my son, my friends, my family, myself and life. I do not only survive, I LIVE! I wish, dream and meet my dreams. I am my own woman and I listen to my intuition… I listen, trust and believe. I believe in myself, in nature, in luck and love…
“Because loving people, that is the whole secret and the only recipe for happiness. But this can only be believed by people who also like other people” (Jan Werich)

As a young boy I had a dream that one day I would become a sailor. Eventually, I was trained as a steam engine mechanic. From 1976 to my retirement in 2006 I worked as an engine driver. Nowadays, my wife Alena and I enjoy the well-deserved relax with our six grandchildren from our four daughters. During my life I have had several loves which I managed to join. I started to draw when I was at nursery school and continued at primary school, where I drew over a lot of sheets of paper and notebooks. I still keep these notebooks and papers and I am glad that I have them and can look how I drew when I was 14. I mainly drew technical things, such as rockets, space, planets, engines, and ships. Before my retirement, I drew and painted and my creations were strongly influenced by the destruction and slow extinction of my hometown Most. In my 30s, I began to paint with tempera paints and later continued with oil paints. As I have no art education, I had to find various painting techniques by myself. I´ve had several artistic periods, such a metal period when I made engines, then I made objects from hard clay (I modelled figures and heads). Now I only paint. I like to paint heaven with clouds and under them houses, churches and various things in unusual situations which I can never see in normal life. That is my world to which I escape from reality when I am have the urge to paint a new painting.

I was born on 13 May 1974 in Chomutov. And I think I am glad for it. I completed the grammar school in Chomutov. Then I studied arts and social sciences for junior high schools at the Pedagogical Faculty of J.E. Purkyne University and graduated in 1998. Since then I have only been enjoying my life, working and painting. I am back “at home” in Chomutov again since 2002. My workplace is the Primary School of Academic Heyrovsky, where I teach arts. Sometimes, I make an exhibition of my paintings and from time to time I use also walls as canvas. The Earth is awesome, wonderful, and simply NICE! When it connects with man, which IS NOT so awesome, but there is so much inspiration which can never be exhausted. I have been painting all my life with love and joy. I always look forward to the moment when I am about to begin a new painting. Such a moment is precious for me because
painting is not my job. It is my need and joy. Because of a lack of time and my impatience, I use water-colour paints most often. I was thrilled by the idea of this project and I am glad that I am part of it.

I live in village of Krabcice, situated near Mount Rip. I am 40 years old and have two children. I work as a PSS in the place where I live. I started my painting that way. I enrolled for a course of painting with the right brain hemisphere. It was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much, so I started to improve my skills at home in the evenings. And this is the result. I like to paint or draw with anything according to my mood, but my most favourite are acryl colours and canvas. I paint almost everything – abstract paintings, nature, portraits (also from profile), mandalas, etc. I painted the picture “Magic Square” because it was a big challenge for me and I could never imagine that I will support anybody. I must say that it satisfied me and also gave me much joy. I painted it for approximately one month, mostly in the evenings. My picture was painted with dry brush technique and I was inspired by my feeling that this should be something unique and interesting. Otherwise I get the inspiration from everything around me. And that’s probably all about me.

My name is Mia. I am 17 years old. I like cats, old clothes, old photos (polaroid) and older music. I am interested in politics and I would like to become a human rights activist.

I have been painting since my childhood. I used to attend lessons of painting, but I would surely paint also without them. I simply got this, and I have not abandoned the hobby since then. I mostly use the tools with which I can really enjoy my work – pencil, aniline colours and especially oil colours. And because I love old oil figurative paintings, I also try to find inspiration in them. Of course, they do not look perfect, but I like it. I am a spring/summer girl, I hate to do something in winter. I dislike the cold and I prefer staying under a warm blanket than doing anything. Seasons and weather have a big influence on me.

I was selected for this project one month before the beginning of the exhibition. I was really honoured that I got this chance. I did not hesitate and accepted. When I compare my painting to the others, then my work does not look so good visually. I have seen many perfect works at the exhibition in Chomutov, but I think that if somebody is such a big fan of the Beatles as I am, then they can appreciate my painting. And I am glad that I got this chance and could show my creation and interests.