Robie Benve Art

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...

Today I did something a little different for my 20-minute challenge. I used an abstract underpainting that I had ready in the studio, on a panel a bit bigger than the previous days, you can see how it looked like below. I went from a 6x6 to a 8x8. It does not seem like much of a difference but it's a good 28 extra square inches that need to be covered with paint in the same 20 minutes. The abstract base made it a little more challenging, but also so much fun! I stretched a little the rules and worked some extra minutes after the timer went off. I just needed a few extra touches. :) Here is the final painting. "Spring River" 8"x8" Mixed Media on panel, acrylic and paper $80 Do you want to see the abstract mixed media base from which I started? Here it is :) Made with paper, acrylic paint, and custom hand-cut stencils. Mixed media abstract underpainting acrylic and paper Fun!

"Going With the Flow II" 6"x6" acrylic on board $45 Second day of quick painting challenge, I had to make two pieces to actually end up with one that I liked. So I got double practice today, yay me. :) I really like the looseness of the strokes and the colors of this study.

Daily Painting Challenge Ok, this time is not a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, this is a challenge that says "paint fast, with no time to overthink it, create a painting in 20 minutes, with no pressure to create a masterpiece, just get it done and practice quick decision making and fuss-less application. Do it for five days in a row." And day one is DONE!  :) I painted this on a 6"x6" wood panel, using acrylic paint. It took me a few extra minutes, but I was in a room with other painters and we were having a nice conversation, so I cut myself a little slack. Here it is.... "Purple Trees" 6"x6" acrylic on wood panel Daily Challenge: a 20-minute painting $45 The questions that go through my head at the end of the process: Is if finished? Do I like it? Would I call it successful? Sometimes the answers are not that straight forward, it might take a few days without looking at the painting and then, when I see it with fresh e...

"Evening Snow at Thompson Park" 8"x10" Oil on panel Framed Available at High Road Gallery & Studios I love how loose and impressionistic this winter scene came out, with the light snow that lets the ground peak through. I painted fairly quickly over a start of a different landscape painting that was not heading the right direction. The colors that were already on the canvas really did a great job as under-tone for the new one. The scene if a local park, near my house. I wanted to sit on the bench and look at the sunset, but it was too cold and wet for my taste, so I stood there briefly, took a photo, and then kept enjoying my walk on the path. :) Come see it at High Road Gallery & Studios, 12 E Stafford Ave, Worthington, OH. Open Fri & Sat 12-4 pm. Special receptions on Sat Dec 8, 12-4 pm, and Sunday Dec 9, 2-5 pm.

I really like the impressionistic look I get when I paint a landscape on location. "Walking the Dog at Schiller Park" 12"x12" Oil on panel Available I kept this painting very loose but at the same time detailed enough to know exactly what you are seeing, and there are quite a few things that I like about it. My favorite detail is probably the person walking the dog, the moment he walked by I just had to capture that red shirt and its reflection on the water. Just what all that green needed!

"Schiller Park Bridge" 9"x12" Oil on panel Sold   Plein air painting is all about immersing yourself in the landscape during the painting process, and fully enjoying the experience . After many spring outings with awful weather, this day was really beautiful. Sunny and breezy. I finally truly enjoyed every second of it. Sometimes I add a few final touches to the plain air paintings in the studio, after I get home. That's because: 1. Two hours are usually not enough (at least for me) to complete a painting and also add final details. 2. Back in my studio I can look at the painting with fresh eyes, and notice right away some things or changes that are needed. But this time I did not touch it any more. This is true 100% done on location, with no come-backs. Some areas are a little unresolved, but I like that. In my learning curve of painting skills and techniques, I am at the point where I try to stop while I am ahead. Too often I end up over-wor...

"Hopes and Smiles" 12'x12" Oil on  linen panel in floater frame Sold Another en plein air landscape painting of the Park of Roses, in Clintonville, OH. I did this one day after the previous post. I really loved that tall tree with cool colors, and I enjoyed the challenge of painting it, as well as the sprinkles of the fountain.

"New Buds of Joy" Oil on linen panel in floater frame 9"x12" Sold A Plein air landscape painting of the Park of Roses in Clintonville, OH. The roses were blooming that week, and the whole experience of being at the park was really joyful. I had a lot of fun painting with palette knives. It creates a nice texture, and it keeps me out of the temptation of adding too many details.

Here is a colorful abstract painting that took several days to finish, mainly due to the size and the many layers of paint, paper, fibers, stencils, etc. setting my 30 paintings in 30 days on a slow mode. "Sunbright" 24"x24" Mixed media on canvas SOLD Below are some images showing the Step-by-Step of the initial stages, with a super random abstract design that I used as starting point. Stage 1 Random abstract shapes I still had no idea of what the painting would become. I was just trying to create some interesting patterns. Stage 2 I decided I wanted to make it a landscape with trees and a stream. I start drawing the main lines of the landscapes, that at this point may seem to add confusion, but they make sense to me. Stage 3 I get out my custom made stencils and start adding patterns for the leaves, the water, and the grass. Can you see them? It's still confusing... Some detail shots. I used thread from an old fabr...

It has been a while since the last time I ventured outside to paint, and last week I did it two days in a row, attracted by a lovely view of sunflowers at a local farm. I had to go back twice because the first day it was super hot and I had to escape after an hour or so. Note to self: don't wear long jeans on a hot day! I got captivated by the view of the farm building through the sunflowers. After laying down some general shapes with the brush, I switched to palette knife painting, I love the texture that it creates.   Lots of bugs around me, this one seemed to particularly enjoy the painting. At a good point, almost done, but needs still some work. I'll post a photo of the final painting in a few days. I have the feeling that when I'll look at it with fresh eyes, it might needs a few small adjustments here and there.

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...

Day two of thirty - I loved experimenting with this one! A few facts about this: I used the coolest new media: ink blocks. Solid ink that diluted with water becomes like regular ink and dries permanent and super-colorful. I haven't gotten the smooth result yet because of the texture of the paper and the fact that I need to figure out all the different ways to use them, but I love my new Inktense Blocks! I created one of my favorite classic compositions, the Radiating Lines, making up design and colors as I went. I really like this design a lot. I might do several more using the radiating lines.... It brought me back to my beginnings, when I first started painting, I wanted to paint vibrant and colorful landscapes, then somehow along the way I started enjoying more realistic colors. But hey, I think I need to revisit the crazy colors.... they make me smile. What do you think? "Radiating Lines" Inktense blocks on paper  Thanks for visiting. :)

Marcia Evans Gallery has been featuring several of my smaller paintings since December, and they will be on view until Jan 29, 2018. They are all oil painting, available for purchase at a reasonable price.  (hint-hint ;) ) In this photo you can see five of them. Me, standing next to some of my paintings currently at Marcia Evans Gallery. If you are in the area, stop by and visit this nice gallery. Lots of other works in the gallery, especially wonderful abstract and contemporary paintings. It's a great honor to have my work shown in the midst of such talented artists. Location: Marcia Evans Gallery 8 East Lincoln Street, Short North Art District, Columbus, Ohio Hours: 11–5 Tues–Sat and by appointment. Occasional Sundays—please call ahead I feel really blessed to be given this great opportunity, such an awesome way to begin the year! ______  __  ______ Are you receiving my newsletter? I send one every 2-3 months, with updates about m...

"Parador de Cardona, Spain" 16"x20" Oil on canvas Sold A lovely couple got engaged in this beautiful castle and she commissioned the painting as a surprise gift for him. I am super happy to hear that they both were thrilled with how it turned out, and it's now hanging in their love nest. May God bless them and their new marriage with much love and happiness. A challeging process As soon as I saw the photo, I was really intrigued by the purples and blues and the complementary golden light, and quite intimidated by the all the geometrical shapes of the castle and surrounding walls. If you get theangles or proportions wrong, then the whole painting reads fake. I started with a few sketches on paper, then I drew on a toned canvas. I chose orange as the ground color, to give everything a nice glow. After painting through the beginning ugly stages in which the violet was screaming against the orange, the more I filled the gaps with the correct paint co...

I was commissioned by some good friends to paint this view of Bassano, a town in Italy that they love very much. I've had it on my easel for a while, keeping it on the back burner, adding some more paint every once in a while. One of the reasons I procrastinated was that they had no rush. The other reason was that I was afraid to mess it up for them. Now it's done, ready for delivery.  And with great relief I think it turned out well.  : ) The view is quite similar to the real one, I only "moved" several elements closer to each other, so that they all fit in the painting: the home, the bridge, and the trees on the left of the building were visible from slightly different points of views. A few preliminary sketches helped me visualize how I could fit them all in the same scene. "Bassano" Oil on canvas 18"x24" Sold As much as I was intimidated at the beginning, I actually enjoyed the whole painting process very much. I was afraid that...

In September I committed to painting 30 paintings in 30 days, or at least getting as close as I could to painting every day. I ended up doing pretty good, considering how busy the month was. You can read the blog post with a photo of the whole "production" here . A few of the September paintings were done by covering up an old painting that I didn't like. And... oh boy!!!     I think that triggered the one single most important thing I discover about myself in September: I love starting from a complex ground, that has texture, shapes, and different colors.  I enjoy the challenge of keeping some of the under-painting showing though in between brush strokes.  It keeps the painting loose and creates interesting visual effects. And it feels finished much sooner, preventing the most popular mistake for all painters: over-painting. Below you can see how I turned an old plein air landscape into a new one, step-by-step. Over There - Painting Over an Old Unfav...

Today I went out to paint with a group lead by the talented artist Joe Lombardo and we painted at the Whetstone Metro Park, in Columbus, OH. Sadly, today was the last outing of this session, but the good thing is that we managed to squeeze in a one-hour demo by Joe, a critique session with pot-lock, and a little less than a couple of hours of individual painting. Yay us! I had brought with me several panels with old paintings that plan to paint over, and I picked a small 5"x7" panel as the paint-over candidate of the day. Starting from a previously painted panel that I don't like, frees me in several ways.  First of all I have no fear of ruining it, it can't get much worse than something I don't like, right? So I paint with less fear, and it helps me keeping the strokes fresh and loose. One other advantage is that the canvas is already covered in paint, and I can use the specks of the old painting showing through in between strokes, and make them work for ...

"See You Later" 24"x24" Oil on Canvas $650 Inniswood Gardens is a wonderful Park in Westerville, Ohio. I love to go there and walk around, on my own, with friends, and also with my kids. The park has several different areas, with specific habitats, and environments, and nice areas for kids to play, including a great tree house. Anyway, this painting features the boardwalk in the wooded area, and a barred owl, a bird that can actually be seen in the park. On a personal level, I am very attached to the park because they gave me the opportunity to have my solo show in the Innis house last fall. I had several of my landscapes in the show, and the reception was well attended, thanks to the terrific support from the staff and the patrons. Can't wait for the fall colors to be back, that's my favorite season in any park! "See You Soon" will be in the show "Reflexion from the WAAL", the fall show for Worthington Area Art League Me...

  "Triad at Three Creeks Metro Park" 12"x12" Oil on masonite panel On Thursday we had another thunder-stormy and very wet day on our Plein Air outing. (At this point we look at each other and laugh "It must be Thursday!" lol)  The challenge of the day was to create a painting with a specific color scheme, and here is my painting using of a triadic color scheme: red orange, blue-violet, and yellow-green. Great exercise! Thanks Joe Lombardo for the inspiration!  To lift our spiri ts up, we were joined by a lively and excited group of graduates that were celebrating their academic successes under the same shelter that was keeping us dry.  The sun came out, and I made it out of there before a football hit my easel, and without getting soaked by water weapons. Another success story! wewwww!