Robie Benve Art

It's no mystery what inspired this piece of another strong woman, full of knowledge. My house is truly full of music these days. Between the kids practicing their instruments, my radio, and the Festival of the Italian Music that aired this week, it has been hard to choose what to listen to. Furthermore, my daughter shared with us her research project about how music makes you smarter and  healthier. It came as a natural thing to include musical notes and symbols with this figure. "Musical" 15"20" mixed media on paper There were a few more things that I wanted to add, but I ran out of time, so I'll keep the ideas for the next one. Below are some shots of the progress steps. beginning Drawing and ink acrylic paint Paint, markers, colored pencil, and tissue paper more of all the above almost done "Musical" final stage “Music gives a soul to the universe,  wings to the mind,  flight to the imaginati...

In this one I drew a figure and then I overlapped geometrical shapes to it, playing with colors and contrasts. I made it a couple of days ago, but added a few finishing touches today. "Perception" 15"x20" Mixed media on paper Below are the photos that show the progression, in case you are interested. Beginning work in progress I work in progress II "Perception" This si a fun month! I'm loving the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, even if I am a little behind with the posting, I have been working on 2-3 pieces at the time, so I always have one very near the end or finished every day, sometimes no time to post.  : )

The mixed media adventure continues! Today I was inspired to include a figure into an abstract painting, and add layers of colors, textures, and shapes to make it unpredictable and more interesting. I took a few photos in between, just to record some of the progression in the layering, you get to see a few of the steps below. "Wisdom" 15"x20" Mixed media on paper Here are some of the steps Begining: I started by tracing my hand and doodling with water soluble markers and color pencils. Then I sprayed with water, which made the markers bleed and spread. Wisdom WIP - Beginning WIP: Then I drew a figure with colored pencils, colored the background with ink, added some purple cut paper, and magenta stencil patterns. Wisdom WIP WIP 2: I applied layers of tissue paper over many areas, creating texture and filtering the prominent purple paper.  Then I added some acrylic paint on the texture, and stenciled in positive words on ...

Here I am, still having fun creating compositions just following my instinct, without much plan. I don't know how they look to others, probably experienced and professional abstract painters would be appalled to see them, but to me they are a lot of fun and very stimulating. I feel like as soon as I finish one I think of things that I could have done differently, and I can't wait to start a new one to try them out. And if that's what it takes to find the inspiration to create a new one every day, for 30 days, I'm happy. "Blub Blub" 15"x20" Mixed Media on watercolor paper In Blub Blub I used water-soluble markers for the initial drawing, and I sprayed them with water to make the lines fuzzy and lose. Then I added liquid ink from Inktense Sticks, acrylic stencil, paper collage, and just a little Chinese brush ink. Below is a close up shot. Blub Blub Detail Fun! :)  

Fifth experiment of the month. This time using Inktense blocks and colored pencils. An abstract composition of colors and shapes, just for fun. "Boats" 9"x12" Mixed media It's not meant to be representational, but of course my brain is trying to decipher what it sees, and I definitely see boats.  :) PS: Oh, how I do like color! ______  __  ______ Are you receiving my newsletter? I send one every 2-3 months, with updates about my paintings, events that I'm involved with, and other news. Interested?  Sign up here  

Here is MY daily experimentation in abrract terms. This time I used Inktense blocks and different kinds of paper to create color, shapes, and texture. I'm not sure if these creations look interesting to others, but I do love them, because they make my brain work differently. I feel like during this month, anything that is out of the norm is good for me. Making things using different tools from the usual paint and brushes helps me grow as a visual artist.  Sometimes you don't know where you are heading until you take the next step. "Lines, Swirls, and Texture" Mixed media 9"x12" ______  __  ______ Are you receiving my newsletter? I send one every 2-3 months, with updates about my paintings, events that I'm involved with, and other news. Interested?  Sign up here  

Day three, two more small collages of hand-painted paper coming from my studies and sketches tore into peaces. Today I made two, yay me!  lol For the first, I was inspired to create another of the classic compositions, the one called "steelyard", in which two shapes of different size are on each side of the horizon. It evolved into something a little different from the initial idea, but that's the beauty of these daily projects. Go with the flow...   :) "Steelyard" 4'5" x 5.5" paper and acrylic For the second one, I was just placing shapes and colors without thinking too much, and it turned out to be an abstract image that reminded me of the pillars of an ancient temple. "Pillars" 4'5" x 5.5" paper and acrylic

Day two of thirty - I loved experimenting with this one! A few facts about this: I used the coolest new media: ink blocks. Solid ink that diluted with water becomes like regular ink and dries permanent and super-colorful. I haven't gotten the smooth result yet because of the texture of the paper and the fact that I need to figure out all the different ways to use them, but I love my new Inktense Blocks! I created one of my favorite classic compositions, the Radiating Lines, making up design and colors as I went. I really like this design a lot. I might do several more using the radiating lines.... It brought me back to my beginnings, when I first started painting, I wanted to paint vibrant and colorful landscapes, then somehow along the way I started enjoying more realistic colors. But hey, I think I need to revisit the crazy colors.... they make me smile. What do you think? "Radiating Lines" Inktense blocks on paper  Thanks for visiting. :)

All right, here we go, the first post of the month! As I mentioned before, this month, during the daily painting challenge called 30 Paintings in 30 Days, I am focusing on experimenting with abstract compositions and mixed media. Paint, drawing, collage, fibers, stitches, all could come into play. I have a vague idea of what I'd like to try, let's see if what happens as the days go by. Here is the first composition a collage of hand painted paper. It's quite small, made with pieces of hand-painted paper, attached with acrylic soft gel. The photo is a little dark, I'l try to get a better shot tomorrow. "Start With a Heart" 3.5"x4" Collage I had fun making it! I started out with the idea to create an L shape (or rectangular) composition, then I added the yellow square on the left, but it was too bright. An L-shaped blue paper on top, rotated just so, takes away some of the brightness and looks like a heart.  Nice way to start...