Robie Benve Art

I'm a little late posting this, it has been a very busy week. Day five of the 20-minute challenge "A Walk on the Beach" 8"x8" Mixed Media, acrylic and paper Available on my website The fun I had doing this is hard to explain. Mostly due to the fact that I worked from a mixed media under-painting done with paper, acrylic gel, plus hand-cut stencils and acrylic paint. The random texture and patterns on the base made the behavior of the paint very unpredictable, and I really enjoy the ground color shining through. I created the under-painting before deciding what I would paint on it.

The busy month of September 2018, with its 30 paintings in 30 days challenge ended!!! Here is one more of my paintings completed in September. "Look Up and Cheer" Study 9"x12" Mixed media on canvas Sold I have a few more finished and half-finished paintings that I have not posted yet, hopefully I'll be able to take photos and post tomorrow. Even if I did not complete 30 paintings, as the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge seems to require,  I feel good nevertheless. I painted way more than I would have done without the challenge, I experimented new things, and I had lots of fun. Some days I had no time to paint at all, on other days I had to find the time with big efforts. Overall it has been a period of great discovery. I tried to do mostly studies with mixed media, using acrylic paint, paper, fibers, and home-made stencils, and this one is an example of the colorful palette that came out from this very out-of-the-box technique. I also managed...

I worked two days on this. Yesterday I did the abstract underpainting using the mixed media elements, today I added layers of acrylic paint using brushes and custom made stencils. "A Bright Tomorrow" 10"x10" Mixed Media: acrylic, paper, fibers I already posted the under-painting as yesterday's work, but below is a reminder of what it looked like at the initial stage. I liked the clean look of the first stage, did I ruin it adding all the patterna and colors? I hope not, because I like the final version of it too. the mixed media under-painting for "A Bright Tomorrow" It felt god to go back to my favorite subject, a sunset on the beach, and this time I just did it from my head, without looking at a reference photo. Total freedom. :)

Last week I went to the Bryn Du Mansion, in Granville, Ohio and volunteered at the 14th Annual Fine Art Juried Show.  One of my paintings, Heading South , has been accepted in the professional category, and I was looking forward to seeing this wonderful show of talented amateur and professional artists. Truly a lot of talent in the exhibit! I volunteer as a docent in the morning and giving a demo in the afternoon. Me painting a demo at Bryn Du Mansion. This has been the first time that I've ever offered a demo with a live audience, I was a little nervous and really did not know what to expect. A couple of art lovers sat through the whole process, a few other patrons came and went. I am very grateful for the two that stayed the whole time because they allowed me to learn a lot of things about myself and the demo-giving process.   I had a lot of fun during the demo! My painting at the end of the demo, still a lot of work to do. I didn't think I woul...

I have two paintings in the 2016 Dublin Area Art League Spring Show, and this is one of them. The other painting in the show is "Shine Your Light" (see previous post) which got an award. When I gave a talk for the Conversation and Coffee event last September, at the Columbus Arts Center, in the audience there was Inga Smith, a talented photographer, that offered to share some of her sunset pictures with me. (How wonderful is that??) She sent me some gorgeous shots of Hawaiian sunsets, and I picked one of Kamaoli Beach II as reference for this painting. "Holding Hands at Kamaoli Beach II" 20"x24" Oil on canvas Available I loved painting it, even with the challenges that I encountered; it has been fun figuring out how to render with paint the different effects in the clouds, foreground, and changes of light. Thanks for stopping by!

I entered two paintings in the Spring Solace art show by the Dublin Area Art League members. Last night was the award ceremony and I was happily surprised to hear that I received an Honorable Mention award in the fine art category for my painting "Shine Your Light". Me next to my awarded painting. Can you see the "happily surprised" expression? lol The Judge of the competition was Vivian Ripley, artist. This is her comment on the award:  "Shine Your Light" holds my attention with its excellent design depicting a specific time of day using complimentary colors."   Thanks Vivian!  "Shine Your Light" Oil on Canvas 20"x24" (51 x 61 cm) Available The Spring Solace show will be up at the Dublin Recreation Center until May 14th, 2016. 5600 Post Road, Dublin, OH. Free entrance. The show includes a great variety of paintings, drawings, mixed media, digital art, and photography. If you are in the area,...

"Afternoon Beach, study" 8"x10" Oil on gesso board Available Day three of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, and I have completed another one, woohoo! This is a quick study of an afternoon beach, from a photo that I took last summer in Calabria, Italy. To get to the beach you had to go down several steps, and the photo was taken from up the stairs, looking down. I completed this study fairly quickly, and had fun including the figures and the umbrellas. I don't usually include people in my paintings, but simplified people are great to give a sense of proportions.

"Sunny Waves" 9"x12" Oil on canvas Available And here it is, day one of the September daily painting challenge! I have considered doing all kinds of different themes for this challenge, but at the end I ended up painting what I love: a cloudy sky at sunset, with the bonus of being at the beach. :) Gotta paint what inspires me. The photo is not the best, will update when paint is dry. Good night!

"Refreshing" 8"x10" Oil on Board Sold Sometime we need to get away and spend time doing something relaxing. It's a survivor thing, you've got to unplug every once in a while and do what you love to do, with the people you love. But hey, for the days when I just can't get any farther than the supermarket down the street, looking at pictures like this gives me a little bit of the good feeling I need. It's like a spark of positive thoughts, and I feel refreshed already. Love to create paintings that may serve as positive sparks on someone's wall.  :)

"View of Tulum" 18" x 24" (45.7 cm x 61 cm) Acrylic on Stretched Canvas, Framed $530 Last year we went to the Riviera Maya, and it was the first family vacation for the four of us ever, unless you count when we go to Italy to see our folks, but that's home, different from a full blown vacation. We had a wonderful time, and I took several photos. This is one of my favorites and I have wanted to paint it ever since. Finally I completed the painting. It took me a while, I got frustrated and I set the painting aside for several weeks, and then brought it out again to continue painting with fresh eyes. Seeing it next to the photo, it looks quite different, starting from the sand that is not as white, but when I tried to paint it clear, the big light area was getting too much attention, distracting from the rocks and the ancient building, which I wanted to be the center of interest. So I darkened the sand and changed few things accordingly. Looking ba...