Robie Benve Art

Judging a Student Art Competition Not an easy Task So Much Talent!!! I've got the great honor to be invited to serve as a judge for Artistic Discovery , the annual Congressional Art Competition . Students grade 9 -12 entered some incredible artwork, and the choice of the winning pieces was not easy. I got to share the decision making process with other two very talented judges: Frank Hobbs and George Whitten. The entries included photography, digital painting, collage, drawing, oil painting, acrylic painting, and ceramic.  The level of talent was amazing.  In the judging team with me: Frank Hobbs (left) and George Whitten (right) This is me on my way to Congressman Tiberi's office, for the judging. It was a great experience to be involved in such a wonderful competition. I hope that all the young artists that participated are going to continue in their creative activity, whether or not they got recognized with a prize. It is never easy for ...

Aerial (or atmospheric) perspective has always fascinated me. I love looking at the colors fade and observing the shifts of values  in the distance. It keeps me entertained when I drive, and  captivates me when I look at art. Reading about aerial perspective in art books inspired me to write an article about it and share it on hubpages.com. If you wish to read it,  click here.

Ettore 9"x12" Acrylic on Canvas The success of a painting often is already decided before the first brushstroke hits the canvas. Even for artists that don't like too much planning and preparatory work, and prefer to jump right in and start painting, following their instincts - and this is very much how I am - there are many decisions that must be made before and during the creative process. Each decision can drastically change the look and the overall feeling of the paint. Many questions musy be answered by the artist, consciously or not: What am I going to paint? What mood and feelings am I going to convey? What kind of shapes and lines will I use in my composition? What size will my painting support, my brushstrokes, and my color areas be? What paint medium(s) will I use? What techniques and textures will I incorporate? What color scheme will I follow?  I wrote an article about  this critical process "What to Paint: Things To Decide Before Startin...

The rule of thirds has been used to create appealing painting compositions by the greatest masters with remarkable results. To read my article, click on hubpages.com . There are two things in the painter,  the eye and the mind;  each of them should aid the other. Paul Cezanne

To become a better artist: Paint often, have fun, and enjoy the process. :) Image: Tulip field study, acrylic on paper. The 10 things you need to know to get started with acrylics. Answering the 10 basic questions for a beginner painter  that wants to start painting with acrylics. Click here to read. "What you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." ~Goethe

I’ve been working on a harbor painting for a while now, on and off. It started as a realistic painting, and then it turned into a more contemporary one. Kind of in the middle of that transition I decided I would portray the scene half in the sun, and half in the shade. That’s when I started having value problems .  Picture 1 with color I was using warmer colors in the sunny areas, and cooler ones in the shade, but I soon realized that some warm hues have a darker value than cool ones, and focusing on temperature instead of value can really spoil all you are trying to do. Every painter knows the squinting technique to see values, but squinting has its limitations. What helps me a lot is using the “desaturation tool" . Here is how it works: I take a digital photo of the artwork, I download it into my computer, and I desaturate it using Photoshop (many other image editing software can do it too). Then I really see values. Picture 1 desaturated What I s...

Colorful Landscape Painting 18"x24"    Acrylic on canvas panel                                        I found my inspiration for my second painting on the cover of the "Acrylic Artist" magazine: a painting by Mark Gould, "My neighbor's house 832".  I loved the colors and the composition of Mark's piece, with the hilly path going to the horizon and the sharp homes that contrast the natural landscape. I tried to replicate the same feelings on my canvas. I really enjoyed experimenting with color. :) I hope one day I'll be able to take a landscape scene and make as colorful and interesting as this one all on my own, without having to copy another artist.  - Hey, did I just referred to myself as an artist? Acrylic Artist magazine cover

Butterfly painting for my daughter's bedroom 16"x12"  Acrylic on canvas                                           I painted this for my daughter's bedroom, inspired by a similar one I saw in a store. Many times, my whole life, I have been thinking "I could do this, copy it just the same." when I saw an artwork. This time it was my girl that saw an artwork that she wanted for her room, and I said "Honey, I can do that for you, and we can savev the money." It was one of those life changing moments. Because it was kind of a promise to my daughter, I actually did it. I broke the ice, got an old canvas I had in the house, on which my son had doodled with some paint, and I painted it pink, then I drew and painted the butterfly, grass, and ladybugs. I added some sparkles f...