JOHN SMOLKO | 3RD PLACE
2025 PORTRAITS COMPETITION

John Smolko is an Ohio-based artist known for his distinctive color pencil work and expressive mark-making technique. After a long career teaching secondary-school art, he transitioned to studio practice and developed a signature approach that blends draftsmanship with layered marks that build color and form. His work often explores figurative and symbolic themes, using repetitive line and color to create depth, texture, and visual energy.

Smolko’s award-winning drawings have been featured in several publications and included in numerous exhibitions. He is a Signature Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America.

We recently spoke with him about his unique approach to drawing.

How do you navigate the tension between control and spontaneity, especially when working on a portrait where likeness matters?

Being a mark maker, the navigation between control and spontaneity is of paramount importance when working on a portrait. A line drawing is the fundamental foundation of the entire drawing, and its success dictates the outcome of the whole process. If the line drawing doesn’t work, the rest of the process will fail. I then block in color using what I call “controlled scribbles.” From there I keep adding scribbles which get looser and more spontaneous as the portrait develops.

You’ve said everything in nature has energy. How do you translate that invisible vibration into something viewers can feel on the page?

I am a big believer in science and the connection of everything in the universe. We are all made from the stars, and we express that energy in everything we do. My use of line and color endeavors to portray that energy in my compositions. Line and color move throughout my work and seek to find a balance of all the art elements. Borders are established and broken, lines vary from thick to thin to even the absence of line, and color ranges from warm to cool and potentially explodes into a dynamic expression of individual identity.

Do you ever surprise yourself during the drawing process?

Every drawing surprises me in one way or another but the surprises take different forms from one work of art to the next. I have to say that all my drawings go through stages where I doubt them and don’t like what I’m looking at. I think it’s important to work through those stages and not let them overwhelm the creative process. It is extremely important to not let them freeze your momentum but to work through roadblocks and learn from them.

You’ve mentioned that scribbling is now the most enjoyable part of your process.

I guess I’m on the same path as Picasso and trying to become more childlike. With scribbles my drawings develop faster, and I endeavor to make them more effortless. Everyone scribbles differently and it becomes your signature. The real emphasis here is the conscious effort to be different and recognized for that difference.

I love the feeling I get when I look at a finished piece and the colors explode, and the lines move from corner to corner and even off the page. I love getting close to the art and seeing the chaos and then stepping back and seeing the harmony. I love making art that people will stare at and appreciate on numerous levels. It has taken me a lifetime to become me.

All images © John Smolko, shared with permission