Robie Benve Art

"Tuscan Bales" 20"x24" Acrylic on Canvas Hello, and happy winter everyone! I don't know how it is where you are, but here in Ohio snow falls, temperatures drop, and time flies in winter. I can't believe I haven't posted since the Holidays! Nevertheless, things have been happening and brushes have kept swishing even if I wasn't at the computer much, and did not post many updates - I actually did post some updates, but only on my facebook page. So here is one of my winter babies: Tuscan Bales . Working on this painting made my days feel a little warmer, and looking at it now makes me want to roll down that hill, and smell the hay, which is a great feeling, especially when I look our the window and I see only white, cold snow everywhere. Not much smell in the snow either. :D I had fun painting it, The challenge with Tuscan bales has been trying to create some texture and incorporate bright colors. I like the way it turned out!...

"Over the Rooftops" Oil on panel, 11"x14" I went "big" today. Instead of a 6x6 I painted an 11"x14". After a period of painting on location, this is a studio painting, made from a reference photo that I took this summer Italy, however my strategy has been to paint it like it was a plein air painting, quickly and loosely. This way I avoid painting too tight and I can finish it in a day, despite the bigger size. I feel like it has all the elements I wanted to incorporate, so I am posting it, though I'm not sure if I will retouch some things when I look at it again. Often, after the my eyes get some rest from a piece and I come back later with a fresh look, I see all kinds of things that I did not see while I was  involved in the painting. For reference I used a combination of the two photos below, a landscape in Veneto, the region of Italy where I come from.  

Cypress and Olive Trees, 9" x 12", watercolor Three things I associate with Tuscany: lines of cypresses, bluish olive trees, and hills. This watercolor has all three, and kind of makes me home sick. I keep painting Tuscany, even though I'm actually from Venice, where the landscape is totally different, but Tuscany has always been a joy for my eyes and soul every time I visited, and I enjoy representing it with watercolors. The best part, I love how I learn something with each painting. :)