Robie Benve Art

I'm back from my vacation, recharged and ready to go. I went to Italy with my kids, stayed with my parents, saw many great friends, ate good food, and visited great places. Here is a photo of me in St. Mark's Square, Venice. It was a very hot day, but the kids and I made it through and had a great visit.

View from San Marco Square. Came back to the States last night, and I'm finally downloading the pictures of my trip. I see with great joy that I took many good ones.  I have missed only a few carpe diem kind of shots for which  regret my fingers weren't faster or my camera wasn't handier, but overall I'm happy with my effort. Here are some photos taken in Venice. Two gondolas waiting for customers. This lady was standing there for her friend to take a picture and she was wearing a beautiful hat. By the time I got my camera out she had taken the hat off, but here she goes anyway. View on canal. Venice, canal with crossing gondola. View from the Accademia bridge. I don't know when I'll be able to paint from some of my pictures, I hope soon. For now I'm just happy that I've been there! Love, Robie PS: If you wish, photos may be used to create derivative works in the form of drawings or paintings. The photos may ...

Street Light in Venice 8”x10”  Acrylic on Canvas Panel               When I was attending to the University in Venice, Italy, for the first few months, while walking from one classroom location to another, I was in awe every single day, amazed by the architectural details that are in each and every corner of the city. After a while the amazement decreased, and the rash and stress of lessons and tests took over, so I did not see all the astounding things anymore. Last summer I went back to Venice for a day, and boy was my jaw difficult to keep shut! There was me, my camera, and a splendid sunny day in Venice. So had a blast! I talked with the locals – they were amused by this “American” tourist that spoke their dialect, and took pictures of anything that caught my eyes. I even bought three watercolors painting from an artist on the street and had a nice lengthy conversation with him. ...

"Gondola Veneziana"      11"x14"  Acrylic on Canvas Panel Venice holds a very special spot in my heart: I grew up few miles from it, and I went to the University in Venice. I've always enjoyed the city and its atmosphere, so rich of history and architecture, so artistic, and so poetic. Painting Venice can be intimidating. There are many things that are different from what our eye would expect. Lines in Venice are never straight. Walls, sidewalks and buildings have almost organic structure: they curve, soar and lean, in a harmonious way.   When I saw the A Day Not Wasted blog posted a painting challenge with a Venetian Gondola, I thought this was my chance to break the ice and start painting my beautiful Venice. Though the reference picture is darker than the Venice I like to remember, I needed the incentive to get started on my first painting of Venice, and it worked. I tried to brighten up the colors a little and added some flowe...