Fyodor Pavlovich Zvonarev was born in 1929 and raised on the outskirts of Uknezh. From childhood he always wanted to be an artist. He began his career by working at the Voronezh Theater, and then studied in Yeltse and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Following graduation he moved to Lipetsk to work as an artist in the musical theater. In 1961, tired of the theater, he began to work exclusively as an easel painter.

Although accomplished in many genres of painting, Zvonarev was primarily interested in landscape. His work is distinguished by his technique of applying thick paint to the canvas in bold brush strokes.

Zvonarev enjoyed travel and received much inspiration from it. He enjoyed camping and hiking, and frequently visited the Academic Dacha (150 kilometers from Moscow). Artists from all over the former Soviet Union gather at the dacha in groups of 30 to paint and find inspiration. Zvonarev was particularly influenced by a group of artists from Vladimir who also apply paint generously and are interpretive with color.

The American artist Rockwell Kent was another influence. Zvonarev attended a Rockwell Kent exhibit in Moscow in 1955 and was impressed by the huge canvases, expecially one which depicted icebergs in subtle colors and surfaces.