Robie Benve Art

"Circle of Life" 10"x10" paper, fibers, markers and acrylic on wood. Available on my website During the making of “Circle of Life” I experimented with intuitive painting and mixed media.  There are lots of layers of paper, fibers, markers, and acrylic paint. As I worked on it, it kept changing. Sometimes, I fall in love with some details in the early stages, and it's hard to let them go and cover them up with the next layers. The great thing is that, even when a layer is covered up, it served by informing the process, and some parts of it might still be visible at the end, contributing to the overall look of a piece. April 2020, what a time in our lives! To all that are stuck at home waiting anxiously for the end of the social isolation, I wish you good health, love, and peace.  I hope you get many opportunities to enjoy the little things.  Some aspects of what we are experiencing now will make us better people, we might even miss parts of th...

"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...

"The Nutcracker at the Ohio Theater" 8"x10" Acrylic and paper on wood panel SOLD A yearly tradition for many during the Xmas holidays, going to see The Nutcracker ballet by Tchaikovsky is always a wonderful experience. So many memories are made inside of the lovely and historic Ohio Theater, in the heart of Columbus, OH. I wanted to capture a loose and lively rendition of the moment when people arrive to see the show, with the warm lights and the excitement of the evening. It makes me want to check what show is on this week! :) This piece will be in the Summer Show of Art at Marcia Evans Gallery in the Short North Arts District, 8 E. Lincoln St, Columbus, OH. On view: June 1 - 30 August 2019.

"Revitalized Short North" Oil on canvas 18"x24" SOLD The Short North, the Columbus Arts District, gets better and better. Every time I visit there something new going on, and I'm not only talking about the never-ending constructions, lol. I have painted quite a few versions of the iconic arches with the glowing lights. This one it's a little bigger than the other arch paintings that I have completed so far; the bigger size allowed me to get more details in, though still trying to keep it loose. I really like how it turned out. Thanks a lot to the collector that purchased it from the Marcia Evans Gallery, in the Columbus Short North Arts District.

"Short North Lit Up" 8"x10" Oil on linen $200 Available through Marcia Evans Gallery I've been fascinated by the Columbus Short North arches and evening lights for a while. I love walking there - even now that there is quite a mess with major constructions everywhere, lol. It's a beautiful part of the city that feels very lively and it's full of restaurants and art galleries. Every first Saturday of the month there is a Gallery Hop, and when I went to the September one I took a bunch of photos for reference. This is one more painting from those images, this time in oil. Marcia Evans Gallery 8 E Lincoln St Columbus, OH

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. :)

"First Lights of the Evening" 8"x10" Mixed media on canvas SOLD For this month I've switched from oil painting to mixed media, and I'm having a blast! It took me more than a day to complete this one, and I can still see things that I'd like to tweak, but that's how my life as a painter is, I could go on adding details and changing things forever, it's hard to stop and call it done. The 30 in 30 challenge is a good incentive to move on to the next piece; it might be underdone, but at least it's not overworked. :) The mixed media includes, acrylic paint, custom made stencils, tissue paper, and thread. I am behind on my 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, but I'm hoping to catch up before the end of the month.  Fingers crossed! Thanks a lot for stopping by. Blessings.

I've been having fun experimenting with mixed media recently. As a matter of fact, I found out that I love mixed media! Last February my 30 in 30 challenge was focused on mixed media, and that's when it all started. Recently I worked on three pieces (to be posted soon) using acrylics, tissue paper, fabric, markers, and stencils, and I had a blast making them! This small cityscape is also created with all those materials, and with fun. :) "Ready to Go" 6"x6" Acrylic, paper, and fibers on canvas. SOLD Part of the fun was making my own stencils with an X-acto knife. I really enjoyed turning one of my favorite views in Columbus, the Short North Arts District, into an abstract and colorful image. Another one is on my easel already! :)

I almost forgot to join the 30 in 30 challenge this year, thanks a lot Leslie Saeta for the reminder email! I have been doing the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge for a few years now, I believe this is my sixth year - wow! Hard to believe! I love it because it makes me push the "painting every day" thing, and, believe me, the extra motivation to finish a piece is truly needed some days. Yes, the posting part demands quite a bit of extra time and energy, but it's all worth it. In fact , after I complete a daily painting, I have to take a photo, crop and make some basic edits, created a blog post, and finally post a link on the challenge site. Here is the link to the 30 in 30 challenge site , if you want to see all the other entries. My first painting  for this month is a scene of the Columbus, OH Short North Arts District and its lovely arches. This was commissioned to me from nonetheless than my lovely husband, as farewell gift to one of his postdocs. ...

You know the feeling when something worth celebrating has happened in your life? That's how I felt when Marcia Evans from Marcia Evans Gallery texted me that my painting Evening Promenade had sold in 24 hours! Yee-haw! I've been working with Marcia for a few months now, I brought over a few paintings, then picked them up, brought a few more. This is the first time that something of mine actually sells through the gallery, and it feels great! As an artist, but I think most people would relate to this, it is very hard for me to promote my own work to a potential buyer. It's much easier to say great things about someone else's work, but mine? I feel too involved to "talk it up". I could sell other people's work much easier. When it comes to talking to visitors at my booth or my studio, I end up talking about all kind of stuff, more or less personal, but not much about the paintings. Travel, Italy - where I come from - food, weather, and even politics...

"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...

"Where Yesterday Meets Tomorrow" 24"x30" Oil on canvas Available Ah, this place! Every time we go to Pompei I ask to take a walk here, on the promenade of Castellammare di Stabia. The views are always amazing, especially when the sun is setting. The place is full of life, history, nature, and then there is the beach. Just in case all of that was not enough, the food and the ice cream are to-die-for. This is where my husband grew up (lucky him), and where a lot of his friends and family still live. His high school was a few blocks from this spot. I love walking there. I love it when his yesterday meets our tomorrow.

This is one of those serendipity events in my life that I can't keep from bragging about. I am very proud of it. I was contacted by Gabriella Moreno, LCSW director of the Path Program at UCSF, and she kindly asked me if they could use the image of one of my painting for they brochure. I was thrilled and honored. I'm in amazement that they found my painting in the universe of images on the web!I'm very happy that they liked it and it fit so well the meaning of the Program. The title I picked for the image is absolutely perfect, and that is where the true serendipity takes place. The original title of the painting was "Hope", as simple as that. When I posted it on FAA, where I have my art available for prints, I changed the title to "Hope - Path to Tomorrow", to make it more searchable, and that made all the difference. The effect of enriching the title with more keywords really made the magic of making it "searchable". Note ...

"Glowing in the Dark" 9"x12" Oil on Masonite Panel Available By nature I am a night awl. I miss all the sunrises, buy I get very active after dusk. I always enjoy taking a walk at night, and the Short North, here in Columbus, OH is a great place to walk.

"It's Getting Late" 5"x7", Oil on panel Open Auction SOLD I've been committed to painting every day. This month I am doing more than that: I am challenging myself to finish a painting every day. There are only two ways I can finish a painting on any given day: 1. Make it a small painting. 2. Work on a bigger painting that I have started already, and only needs some finishing touches. "It's Getting Late" is a small one, done in one day. The subject is a little different from my usual sunny landscapes, I found the photo browsing through the pics in my phone. I had forgot about taking it, and it looked like a nice change. I painted it over an old painting, a failed attempt of a different landscape. I like that some of the texture from the old brush work shows trough. Also, I was pleasantly surprised that the old image did not bother me when I was starting drawing the new one. I need to try this again, I have quite a few failed at...

Happy New Year!!!!! "Golden Light" 11"x14" Acrylic and Oil on canvas Available A new year always starts full of promises and great intentions. My first good intention of the year is to paint every day, aiming to complete 30 paintings in 30 days. This is the painting completed on January 1st, 2016. I painted this from one of my favorite sunset (or is it a sunrise?) photos. I have done a couple of paintings with oil of the same scene, both sold, this time I tried it with acrylics. I had not painted with acrylics for a long time, and I have to say it required some adjustments on how I handled color mixing and brushstrokes. Main differences: acrylics dry very quickly and they are not as buttery as oil paint, so I had to use many layers where one brushstroke would have done it with oils. Considering I was very busy with family commitments, I am pretty proud of this first piece of the year. I did it! You can see postings by participants in the 30 ...

"Enlightened Study" 9"x12" Oil on Board NFS I am particularly proud of this painting. I took the reference photo one evening after a soccer game; a storm just ended, the sun was peaking from behind the clouds. I painted this study fairly quickly. I think the fact that I panted quickly, makes it look effortless, and I love that about it. A few weeks later I did a bigger version with a slightly different palette, that's why the name "study". It's now showcased in the "Color My World" exhibit, with other 60+ artworks by members of the Dublin Area Art League. The reception for the show is this Thursday, Nov. 19th, at 6:30,  at 5600 Post Rd, Dublin, Ohio. ______  __  ______ 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

"Serene" 6"x6" Oil on Gessobord Available Some days end with a placid and serene feeling to them, and those evenings make you want to look at the day's happenings with an inner smile. Every episode, even the parts of the day that seemed so hard to live, takes a different meaning under this light of serenity. It's not a sunset. It's a feeling. I love those evenings when I can truly see the positive in all things. Have a good and serene night. :) Here is how the painting looks framed:

"Autumn Walk" 24"x36" (60.96 x 91.44 cm) Watermedia on Canvas $950 It looks like I have a thing with painting paths in the woods that lead to light, I wonder what Freud would say about this passion of mine.  :) I'm sure it means something positive, because that's how I feel while I paint paths and when I look at them: Positive and Optimistic. Every person is walking a different path in life, but we all are trying to reach different destinations, our personal goals. Walking to the light can represent many things: reaching "success", getting the job of our dreams, being able to graduate after studying so long, etc. What destination are you trying to reach? It's good to have goals in mind that act as motivators to make us do better, more. I think the important thing is to focus on the destination, yes, but without losing appreciation for the NOW, the present, the walk itself. We should avoid to live our lives always wanting what ...

"Hope" 18" x 24" Acrylic on canvas $650 Available at the Columbus Cultural Arts Center Store I love walking in the woods. Every time I take a walk in nature I feel regenerated, it's always a marvelous experience with plants, animals, sounds, and smells to observe and experience. I feel like I don't do it often enough! The path in this paining leads to the light, to a promising place, full of hope. I hope you like it. :) Thanks for stopping by. Ciao