Robie Benve Art

I like to have several pieces at different stages of completeness  and switch from one to another according to the inspiration of the moment.  My Home Studio Has Always A Lot Going On I took this picture a couple of weeks ago, while I was assessing 17 pieces that were all at different stages of done. I like to work on several pieces at the same time. It allows me to switch to a different painting any time I get stuck or my attention span is gone, and I need a break. Believe it or not, changing the painting on the easel feels like a break.  It gets my brain to rewire, start fresh. Placing a new image in front of me presents a new set of problems to solve and decisions to make. What would look good? What would enhance this picture? What colors should I mix and where and how can I apply them? How can I use my stencils in a way that is unpredictable and makes sense at the same time? Usually I have 3-4 pieces that are work-in-progress, but lately I have started many paintings,...

Happy me in front of the ArtPop Street Gallery billboard featuring my painting "It'll Be Grand". Oh my, there are times when you hope for things, you want them very hard, and everything goes wrong. But there are other times when you think "that sounds interesting, I'll give it a try" and you get the the best results.  The first time I applied for the ArtPop Street Gallery Columbus, in 2019, I thought I had a strong piece, but did not get selected. It was a little disappointing. So, this year I applied again. Even if I had very low expectations, I tried to do it right. I chose a piece I really liked, I cropped it just right, and I made sure I followed all the technical requirements of the online submission.  Then I moved on and kind of forgot about it for several weeks. The Advantages of Submitting for a Juried Art Competition I think submitting for any juried competition is a win-win, especially when, like in this case, there is no submission fee. It takes a...