He was born in the town of Klatovy, the Czech Republic, in the year 1962. Between 1983 - 84 he exhibited in group shows with the Prague Conservatory of Visual and Plastic Art an at the Culural House „Hvezda“ in Beroun, (Czechoslovakia), in 1985. He was accepted as a landed immigrant in Canada in 1987 and settled in Toronto.
His paintings were exhibited in the Del Bello Gallery, Toronto, Ontario. In the fall of 1988 he moved to Vancouver, B.C. His art was later featured in the Gallery 56, in the Taf´s Gallery and in the Roof House Gallery (Point Roberts) in the State of Washington, U.S.A.
Jaroslav Svoboda returned to eastern Canada to live in Montreal, Quebec in 1990. He continued to exhibit in 5 solo and 11 group shows. His paintings are in private as well as in public collections, including those in the Galerie L´Art Vivant, Montreal, Quebec, La Petite Galerie D´Art de saint-Calixte, Quebec, La Maison D´Art Fra Angelico, Montreal, Quebec.
His participation in „Chemin de Croix“, a travelling exhibition that toured parishes of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, was mentioned by the Canadian press. He also gave drawing and painting lessons at the Strathearn Intercultural Center in Montreal.
The community of the Sisters of the Good Shephard commissioned Jaroslav Svoboda to create a painting for the series of art works, called „Courte Pointe“ in memory of those, who died of A.I.D.S. This project was to be a travelling show through the whole continent of North America and in the city of New York.
J. Svoboda was given private lessons by the sculptor Josef Adamek, former proffessor of the Art College, in Prague, Czechoslovakia, during 1980 - 82. In order to improve his knowledge of anatomy, he took numerous drawing classes in the Cultural House of Prague in 1981 - 83 and at the Conservatory of Visual and Plastic Art. He enrolled for full time studies at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in 1988 - 1990 in Vancouver, Canada.
He lives and exhibites in the Czech republic since the year 1994.