| About John P. Smolko
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| I
have been a Realist in one form or another ever since college. My
fascination with the visual world has never been abated and I find
myself overwhelmed with the variety of form and beauty ever present
in our environment. Early in my career I took the Organic point of
view for Realism and drew objects entirely from my surroundings and
always of a personal nature. I later I experimented with Symbolism
and started to explore the wonders of color through colored
pencils.
This transformation of my work was
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| scrutinized
by colleagues of mine through a critique group that has been in existence for over twenty years. I highly recommend that all artists share their work and dialogue with other professionals. This is a time honored tradition and I strongly suggest you find colleagues who are opinionated and work in a variety of styles. Our critique group also
exhibits together, as often as possible, and we find each other to be a source of inspiration and motivation. When you're a part of a group like this you will find out fast that it doesn't take very much to provide you with a watershed moment.
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After an animated critique session with several of my colleagues, one of them said, "John, the most honest kind of line that you can make is a scribble." I took that philosophy to heart and began to explore expressive line with all its beauty and dynamics. I was always interested in crosshatching and color theory, but my work before this relied on traditional methods of layering and blending.
As a Realist these techniques worked early in my career, but the call of linear expression was an opportunity to grow and mature as an artist of one's own time. My subject matter consists of students of mine, friends, colleagues, and family
members. I use a digital camera to take references for my creations and may take up to thirty photographs to help establish an effective composition.
You might call my approach a form of Photo Expressionism, though I find it difficult to label my work in Contemporary Art's melting pot of styles, techniques and ideas. I place
a premium on quality and creativity and I always strive for personal
expression.
I am a high school art teacher and I draw what I know and
experience. Art is my life style and I can't think of a better
way for an individual to creatively pass their time on this
planet.
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