2nd PlaceWinner — “Colorful Expressions” Exhibit, Nina Khmeleva
For our second-place winner in the Colorful Expressions Online Exhibition, art has never been a hobby, it's been a lifelong language. Nina Khmeleva picked up a pencil as a toddler, and by age 11 she was already teaching drawing lessons to students across the Russian-speaking world through Lil School, the region's largest online drawing academy. That early spark has grown into a distinctive visual voice rooted in surrealist storytelling, dark humor, and the tangled relationship between humans and the natural world.
Nina's path hasn't been a straight line. In 2022, she was forced to leave Russia for Uzbekistan following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, an experience that reshaped her art and pushed her to engage more directly with political and cultural themes. Today, based in Baltimore, she's pursuing illustration and creative writing at the Maryland Institute College of Art, continuing to build a body of work that is as personal as it is playful.
Her winning piece, The Pelican, is a perfect example of how her mind works: a chance observation that a pelican's bill echoes the curve of a shopping cart, spun into a vibrant, tropical character bursting with yellow and hot pink. We sat down with Nina to talk about that spark of inspiration, her approach to color, and where she sees her art heading next.
Can you tell us a bit about your journey as an artist—how you first discovered your passion for art and what has shaped your creative path over the years?
My journey as an artist began the moment I first picked up a pencil as a toddler. The themes that define my work today (relationships between humans and the natural world, surrealist storytelling, and dark humor) have been present in my thinking for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I was fascinated by animals and spent countless hours drawing them. That early interest eventually evolved into the visual language that characterizes much of my current work. When I was 11 years old, I became a drawing tutor. I filmed drawing lessons for kids at Lil School, the largest online drawing school in the Russian-speaking world. My lessons quickly became popular among the students. It was a highly rewarding experience that jumpstarted my career. Over time, I began incorporating political, cultural, and social themes into my art. This shift was strongly influenced by my personal experience of being forced to leave Russia for Uzbekistan in 2022 following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Today, I live in the United States and study illustration and creative writing at Maryland Institute College of Art.
"Pelican," 2025 Digital drawing (procreate) 20 x 11 in
Every great work of art starts with a spark. Can you tell us about the specific inspiration behind your winning entry? Was there a particular moment, emotion, or observation that compelled you to bring this vision to life?
The Pelican emerged from my exploration of visual rhyme, a creative technique in which unrelated things are connected through formal or conceptual similarities. While sketching, I noticed that a pelican's bill closely resembles the shape of a shopping cart. That observation became the foundation for the character. I can easily imagine the Pelican in a kids' animated series or a video game.
The 'Colorful Expressions' exhibition celebrates vibrant, high-energy storytelling. When you are standing in front of a blank canvas, how do you decide on your color palette? Do you choose colors that reflect your immediate emotional state, or is the relationship between the colors planned out beforehand to evoke a specific reaction from the viewer?
My color choices are always highly intentional. I enjoy visual problem-solving, and I view color as one of the most powerful storytelling tools available to an artist. Rather than relying on my immediate emotional state, I carefully select palettes that reinforce the concept and atmosphere of a piece. For the Pelican, I selected a combination of vibrant yellow and hot pink to evoke the warmth and abundance of a lush tropical island.
Looking ahead, what direction do you see your art evolving toward, and are there any upcoming projects or exhibitions you’re particularly excited about?
I see my future work becoming increasingly personal and humorous. One of my major goals is to write, illustrate, and publish my first book within the next two years. In terms of artistic opportunities, I am particularly excited about participating in contests such as the American Society of Illustrators annual competition, Illustration West, and Fumetto International Comic Competition. The latter was one of the first contests I won as a kid. I was just 9 years old, and it felt like winning a Nobel prize: I was called from the Swiss Embassy and personally invited to visit Switzerland.
As an online art contest, your work is being viewed on screens all over the world. How does it feel to share your art in a digital space compared to a physical gallery, and how do you think that accessibility impacts the way people connect with your message?
Digital exhibitions offer artists an extraordinary opportunity to reach audiences across geographic and cultural boundaries. Physical galleries provide an intimate and immersive viewing experience, but digital platforms offer significantly broader visibility and long-term accessibility. For me, online exhibitions are a priceless tool for building meaningful interpersonal connections.
Anything else you want our audience to know about you?
I am deeply grateful for this opportunity and for everyone who has supported my artistic journey. I am always excited to connect with fellow artists, curators, publishers, and creative professionals. I believe that art thrives through dialogue, and I look forward to continuing those conversations while developing new projects in the years ahead.
From childhood drawing tutorials to international competitions to a body of work shaped by displacement and reinvention, Nina Khmeleva's journey is a reminder that creativity often finds its clearest expression in the moments we least expect—a shape glimpsed mid-sketch, a memory of home reimagined an ocean away. As she looks toward publishing her first book and entering the world's most prestigious illustration competitions, it's clear this is only the beginning of her story.
Congratulations to Nina on her well-deserved second-place win in the Colorful Expressions Online Exhibition. You can follow her work on Instagram and X, or explore her full portfolio at ninakhmeleva.cargo.site.
