Robie Benve Art

"Music for My Heart" 10"x10" paper, fibers, marker, water-soluble pastel, and acrylic on wood panel. See it on my website I love to use music and patterned paper in the starting layers of a painting and then use transparent paints in the areas where I want to keep them visible until the end. Music for My Heart has music paper and starred paper still showing through. I also used yellow tissue paper to create the yellow circles, and I love the energy they emanate. It was a fun project. I love the process of observing where I am in the different stages and add things as they seem needed. I also enjoyed the challenge of balancing the abstraction of the piece with the realism of the heart drawing. Blessings to you, thanks for reading. May your heat be always strong and pure.

Like many others of mine, this painting started with a colorful abstract mixed media base. I love to let the initial spontaneous (and crazy) elements provide a guide to the intuitive process of creating the next layers.  As I added layers of color, mainly with a palette knife, I allowed some of the base to peek through. The resulting work is vibrant and happy. The unexpected colors add visual interest and catch the viewer's attention.  "Spring River" 8x8 inches Acrylic and paper on wood panel. SOLD You can see the initial base below. I used colored and patterned paper, acrylic paint, and my unique hand-cut stencils to create a totally random ground with fun patterns and bold colors. Thy all somehow contribute to the creation of moments of surprise and fun that carry through to the final painting.  The kind-of-crazy starting point for Spring River: paper and acrylic paint. Thanks for reading, blessing! :) Sold! Thank you so much to the wonderful...

Ok, here is the final grouping of all the paintings I have completed in Sept 2018. They are not 30, but some are quite large and took several days, so no complaints here. Five are oil paintings, 11 are mixed media. I'm afraid I might have forgotten one or two... oops.  Paintings completed in September 2018 by Robie Benve Not too bad, eh? :) I left out a bunch of unfinished abstract background paintings that I have done, they'll come in handy for the next round. They'll be my head start. :) Once again, thanks a lot to Leslie Saeta for setting up the painting challenge and for leading the way. Here is the link to the challenge page. https://www.saetastudio.com/september-2018-30-in-30-paintings Peace :)

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. :)

I've been starting my mixed media painting with a very random abstract under-painting. Some days I make only the under-painting and leave it be until I get an inspiration on how to continue. Today I made this, on a 10"x10" stretched canvas, using acrylic paint, tissue paper, thread, and acrylic peelings from a dried-up palette. Wat will it become? Abstract under-painting 10"x10" Mixed Media At some point I started seeing a sunset on a beach. I think I'll develop it in that direction. Unless, as I add layers, I start seeing something else, then I'll change direction. : ) Here is the link to the 30 in 30 challenge site , where most participants post a thumbnail of their daily painting, with a link.  Thanks to Leslie Saeta for creating this wonderful challenge, what an incentive to paint and an opportunity for artists to network!  

"Gotta Have the Guts II" Acrylic, paper, fibers, and markers on canvas 24"x24" Sold   I had a lot of fun making this painting. I started from a completely random abstract painting, and then built this image on top, using paint, tissue paper, fabric, and markers.  There kind of is no wrong-doing when you use mixed media, everything you add to the painting can become something else with a few more layers of abstraction. The result is an abstract representation of an intestinal cell, as seen through a transmission electron microscope. The elongated forms represent the microvilli.  Each cell has thousands of microvilli, to maximize the surface area available to absorb the nutrients from the digested food. I find that super-fascinating. I actually made this and its companion piece, Gotta Have the Guts 1, for a specific juried show that was calling for art inspired by science. And they both got juried in, how exciting!!

"Gotta Have the Guts I" Mixed Media on Canvas 24"x24" Available I am very pleased that my fourth post of the month is about this piece! And #5 will be about its companion Gotta Have the Guts 2 (see next blog post). These two started me on a new mixed media technique using acrylic paint, paper, custom made stencils, and fibers. The image for Gotta Have the Guts 1 was inspired by a dramatic close-up image of the duodenum wall, obtained with a scanning electron microscope. The duodenum is where most of our digestion takes place.  I love how the blue cross-section of the villi stands out against the lining of the small intestine. I accentuated the fictional and surreal look by using color patterns and mixed media. I'm excited that it has been juried into the Fall exhibition  Hypotheses: Art inspired by the many worlds of Science , at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center. 

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! :)  

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

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...

Sooo, I did announce left and right that I was doing the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge in January, and as the month went by I realized that 30 was a high aim in such a busy month. Nevertheless, I did paint with increased productivity, and with a lower level of fear. It's hard not to be intimidated when you know you are going to post a photo of it online for everyone to see and critique. Still, I tried to complete paintings without worrying about "perfection" and move on. Chances are that when I look back at them few months down the road I may like them better and appreciate some details more. If not, in January I also learned that it's fun to paint a brand new painting on top of an old one that I don't like. That knowledge may come in handy in the future. ;) Painting over an older work that I don't like has two positive aspects: 1. I recycle a canvas or board, without wasting it. 2. I stop seeing an "ugly" painting laying around in my s...

Collage of my Daily Paintings for the month of September 2014 Wow, it has been a wonderfully busy month: I participated in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, and even if I did not complete 30 paintings, I am very happy that I was able to paint (almost) daily. :) At the end I have completed 24 small paintings that are summarized in this collage. Not too bad after all! :) I had fun painting each and every one of them, and I hope I can continue on this productive strike. A couple of paintings are missing in action, they did not make it to be shown to the public. A few others never happened - some days were just too crazy to be in the studio. Every painting presented specific challenges and some kind of lesson for me to learn. I feel richer now, and ready to continue on this amazing creative process, painting as often as I can. Thanks for stopping by!  :)