Lyudmyla Semykina was born in 1924 in Odesa. Her father held a high position in the local Communist Party. In 1932, he refused to participate in the organization of an artificial famine, Holodomor, and left the party. He subsequently began working as a carpenter.

After graduating from the Kyiv Art Institute in the 1950s and 1960s, Lyudmyla worked as a fine artist. Her landscapes and still life paintings were constantly being exhibited. Her art career could be considered successful—however, politics intervened.

Semykina was expelled from the Ukrainian Artists Union twice. First in 1964, for her participation in the creation of the stained glass window "Shevchenko. Mother" in the lobby of Kyiv University. The official wording for the expulsion was: "for an ideologically vicious work that gives a distorted image of Taras Shevchenko."

Shortly after being reinstated in the Artists Union in 1968, Lyudmyla was again expelled for signing a letter protesting against the repressions of dissidents. This time, the de facto ban on the profession lasted for two decades. Semykina could no longer receive government orders, participate in exhibitions, or earn any money by painting.

But Lyudmyla found new ways to use her talent. She began to create designer clothes based on folk traditions. Lyudmyla worked as a costume designer in theater and cinema, created filmstrips, and designed a number of monumental art pieces in Kyiv.

After Ukraine regained its independence in 1991, Semykina returned to active creative work and won a prestigious national award. Now her works are exhibited in the major museums of Ukraine and in private collections abroad.