Robie Benve Art

Birch Trees I Birch Trees II Birch Trees III    I made this trio a few months ago as a way to experiment with mixed media and color. The texture and the orange sky colors are created by some fancy special papers that we artists like to splurge on. Then there is paint, more paper, and some patterns created with my hand-cut stencils, In short, they were a fun experiment, and I really like the outcome. The three paintings, which could be purchased individually or as a set, are currently on view at the Marcia Evans Gallery in the Columbus Short North, 8 E Lincoln Ave.

"Natural Wonder" 8"x8" Mixed media: acrylic, paper, markers, and fibers. Available on my website This little guy (20 x 20 cm) is part of a small series of mixed media landscape painting done from my imagination, with no reference photo, all very similar in composition. I started creating the composition with paint and paper on a wooden panel, then I added several layers of tissue paper and paint. I also added some fibers to create the tree trunks. Below is an mid-stage photo of the process. Mid-stage work in progress creation of Natural Wonder. In this particular piece I wanted to preserve the pattern of the confetti tissue paper, so I added several layers of transparent acrylic fluid paint from Golden. The final result is very textural and has a lot of interesting marks. To apply the paper and the fibers I use acrylic soft gel medium from Golden. It serves as a glue, but it's a high quality acrylic binder, pretty much it's like acry...

"Short North in Red" 8"x10" Acrylic, paper, ink, and charcoal on wood panel The Columbus Short North never fails to get me excited about painting it. :) Every time I go I just have to take pictures that I stash away in a reference photo folder and boy, do they come in handy! This photo in particular (see below) was taken from the car, thanks to my lovely passenger at the time. Gotta love when you have someone snapping away for you, so that you don't become a danger on the road, lol. I started with a ground of various papers, including music sheets, ink, and paint, and I built it from there. See the picture below... Start of the painting above. The mixed media includes paper, acrylic paint, charcoal, and ink. I painted most of it at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center, in a painting class. You should have seen the faces of my classmates as they approached and peeked at what I was doing, all confused by the random patterns, trying to say somethin...

"Breathing" 8"x10" Mixed Media on panel Sold A painting from when I finally got over the shock of becoming allergic to oils and took the courage to paint en plain air with acrylic and mixed media. I loved creating this baby at Hoover Reservoir Park. The day started foggy and gray and I almost did not go out to paint. Once there, the sun came out and made it a very enjoyable experience. First, I created an abstract and colorful mixed media under-painting with paper, acrylic gel, and hand-cut stencils. Then, I picked my subject and started painting with acrylic paint and palette knife. I love how loose it came out and how the bright under-painting glows through in several spots. I think I've found a great way to use acrylics outdoors. They dry so quickly that I thought it was impossible, but this technique makes it faster and doable. Yay!!

Last week an artist friend saw my latest paintings and told me that the colors reminded him of Wolf Kahn's work. Uh? Honestly I had no idea of how his work looked like, so I googled it and... I loved his colors and the simple shapes in the composition. Here is a small painting inspired by what I saw. "Standing Tall" 6"x6" Mixed Media on canvas $40 Thanks for stopping by.

On Saturday, I attended a mixed media demo with the talented and creative Susan Rossiter.  Six lucky attendees gor the opportunity to experiment with a stretched canvas and lots of top notch art supplies. She showed us the way, and then let us get super creative. I came home with a very colorful and textural abstract painting, and I worked a little bit on it in my studio because, being me, I wanted to "see something" in it. So I turned it into a path in the woods, with the light Shining Through . Shining Through Mixed Media on stretched canvas 8"x8" SOLD Susan had all kinds of acrylic paint, brands Golden and Liquitex.  Heavy body, fluid, spray, acrylic ink, gel medium, cracking paste, and who knows what else. I only used a few things and I was already full of wows. She also had all kinds of paper, embroidery thread, and other things to create textures and patterns, like paper doilies. One think that I did not use were her beautiful stencils and the s...

Ahhh, Spring! I hadn't painted outdoors in a while!! (I'm a little late posting this, but it has been a busy few weeks)  Spring in Ohio is crazy, you never know what you are going to get, one day it may be in the 70s and the day after it may snow. Planning an outdoors painting session is always risky. First Pein Air Outing: Pickerington Ponds Metro Park My first day of plein air painting in 2018 was on March 29, very early on the calendar, and I was a little worried about it; you are very likely to get a snow blizzard in Ohio at the end of March. However, it turned out to be a gray and rainy day, but not too cold. I met with a group of eager artists, lead by the awesome teacher: Joseph Lombardo, in Pinkerington Ponds Metro Park. Joe always does a demo at the beginning of class, then the group breaks out and we each start our own painting.  Since I've taken Joe's plein air classes several times now, I decided to paint along during the demo, instead of sitti...

"Yield to Pedestrian" Oil on Panel, 12"x16", framed Available on my website Every week I go on a plein air outing with a group led by the talented Joe Lombardo. Last weeek we did a few 10-minute studies of different views of the same park, then it started pouring and we had to flee. The 10-minute studies were fun and non-committal, I just had to get the main ideas down, no need to make a finished painting. And they were small. Easy peasy. This week, the task was to make a big painting en plein air, and finish it. What??? The weather was crappy again, and I really dislike painting rainy landscapes. I was really intimidated, so I picked a board that was big, but not huge. A 12"x16" would do. Much bigger than the usual 6"x6" I get out on rainy days. : ) But I was determined to do it. I had a strategy. :) I talked to my self in the car, on the way there. I told myself: I am fearless. I am talented. I am courageous. I am creativ...

I have been trying to get painterly productive and catch up with the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge. So far I have skipped painting on many days in January, but on the days that I was able to do it, I worked on more than one painting. Below are a couple of colorful little paintings that I did at the Cultural Arts Center last Thursday, with the goal of submitting them to the Gift Shop. One sold as soon as I had completed it, thanks to Jean, a fellow artist that saw me painting it and really liked it. "Joyful" 3"x3" acrylic on canvas, with mini easel Sold "Love You to the Poppies and Beyond" 3"x3" acrylic on canvas, with mini easel Sold

"Path to Health" 6"6" Oil on board SOLD Last year I went to a local park and painted a path in the meadow full of golden rods. Based on that image, I painted this path, but surrounded it with red flowers instead. (Are they poppies? I think they are, but you can decide. :) Paths are very symbolic, and this one in particular made me think of all the sad news I got recently about dear friends and wonderful people fighting with disease, especially cancer. I dedicated this small painting to their recovery. May there be health, strength, and happiness after the curve. To all that are fighting to gain health again: keep strong, keep the fight up. The final result is worth all the sacrifice. Love, R

"Colorful Walk" Oil on masonite panel Ready to pop into a 5"x7" frame SOLD A small colorful landscape painting that I did last fall at a local park. I love to paint small when I paint on location, it gives me the chance to finish in a short time. The colors where so nice and warm, it was a pleasure to paint outdoors surrounded by people walking on the beautiful paths.

"Punchline" 6"x6" Oil on Gesso Board Sold Fall has taken over all of our senses with cooler temperatures, earthy smells, and the gorgeous colors, beautiful consequence of the colder nights. :) As most of my friends know I am taking a painting class with local artist Joe Lombardo, and every week we go to a different location in or around Columbus, OH. This week we went to a park with a big pond that would have been gorgeous to paint, but it was raining, so we stayed under a shelter and the view of the trees near the parking lot was spectacular. Once again I chose to paint small because I wanted to finish the painting on location, and here it is, I called it Punchline because of the brightness and sharpness of the trees, so fun to see, though we know is the last show-off before bare branches. I had fun painting this colorful scene, and some extra fun making a last minute squiggly textures. :) “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” ...

Vibrant Tree V 6"x6" Acrylic on stretched canvas I'm getting the hang of these vibrant trees, I can tell because I can paint them faster now. :) Mixing paint on the canvas instead than on the palette is always risky: you never quite know what each stroke brings, and you can easily create muddy colors. But it's fun! Sides of the canvas are 1" deep and painted dark, ready to hang on a wall or brighten up a shelf. :) Re-posted in Sep 2014 - Had to delete the original post (I forgot what date it was) because something weird was going on with traffic and scripts...

"Magenta Sunset" 6"x6". Watermedia on Canvas Sides painted dark Another one of my Vibrant Brushstrokes series. I really enjoy the spontaneity and fun of creating small paintings with this technique. I usually listen to very upbeat music while I paint colorful and vibrant paintings. For "Magenta Sunset" I had my Latino playlist on, and alternated brushstrokes with dance moves. Good thing my studio walls can't talk, lol!

"In The Poppy Field" 12"x12" Oil on Stretched canvas SOLD This painting is a little bigger one than my usual daily paintings, in fact I worked on it for a few sittings, and it was fun to see how it evolved and changed. For example the house was not included at the beginning, but then I thought it added some interest, and I painted it in. I know I have said this before, but I'll to say it again, because it's true: I love poppy fields, they make me smile.  :) Thanks for stopping by!

"Castellammare II" 8"x10", oil on panel SOLD I took a photo of this sunset a couple of years ago  in Castellammare di Stabia, the Italian city where my husband grew up. Since then it has been one of my favorite photos from our vacation. I used the photo as fb cover, I had it printed on our family calendar, and of course I painted it, at least a couple of times. This painting was done in one morning, a day where I started out with brushes, but then I decided that I wanted to do something bold. So I painted  with a knife, in thick impasto strokes. The panel was toned orange and that still comes through in many places adding a very warm glow to everything. I love the result, it's colorful and a little abstract. Thanks for visiting! :)

Vibrant Tree XIII 6"x6", Acrylic on stretched canvas $40 Put a tree silhouette against a warm sunset, and all the colors get warmer. :) Especially when I paint around Valentine's day, thinking thoughts of love.

"Vibrant Tree XII" 6"x6", Acrylic on Stretched Canvas SOLD I painted this tree on a 6"x6" stretched canvas that was toned with a nice bright orange. You can still see the orange peaking through here and there.  I kept it bright by using a lot of magenta and brilliant blue. I like the result, it makes me think of a happy place. Sides are painted dark so it's ready to hang or sit on a shelf.  Lots of states are covered in snow today!  Stay warm and safe everyone.  

"Joyful Sunset" 6"x6" Oil on Gessoboard SOLD I really enjoy painting these small sunsets. Most of them are from photos that some of my friends took by chance (lucky!). Sunsets make me smile, and I love to see them framed too. This one is currently at UOF Art Gallery in the Columbus, OH Short North in an exhibit with 150 small paintings by local artists. If you are in the area check it out! :)

"November Sunset" 6"x6", Oil on Gessoboard SOLD I don't do a small painting every day, but when I do I really enjoy it! This one I did it in one session, no breaks, and it took me a little longer than an hour. I painted it with my friend Lynda Guenther, in her studio. It's nice to meet and paint together, we work on different things, but the creative energy seems to multiply. It must be the chatting in between strokes that helps. :) I like painting alone too, but rarely in silence: I listen to music - Most of the times singing along and dancing to the rhythm - or some radio program like the Artists Helping Artists podcasts (so inspiring!). I enjoy company when I paint, as long as it's not someone standing by me just watching what I'm doing. That makes me too self conscious, takes away spontaneity, and it's very distracting, as my family know pretty well by now.  #leavemealoneplease   :) ______  __  ______   Are you receiving m...