Robie Benve Art

  "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!

"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...

Every year the Dublin Area Art League (DAAL) hosts a Paint Out in Historic Dublin, Ohio. This year I was the Paint Out chair - I am also the current DAAL president, I guess I could not be less involved in the Paint Out. :) I planned it, advertised it, worked hard to create community awareness and coordinate our wonderful volunteers and the day of the outdoor painting event we got pouring rain and cold. Bummer! Thank Goodness several brave and talented plein air painter came down and participated in the event anyway. Everyone did a wonderful job! The judge for the competition was Michael McEwan, and he seemed surprised too of the great paintings entered in spite of the weather. : ) If you don't know Michael he is a nationally renown, award-winning artist, landscape and plein air painter. I painted the cute store across the street from the booth "Chelsea Borough Home" and I tried to make it colorful, notwithstanding the gray day. My efforts were rewarded becaus...

"After the Rain" 8"x10" Oil and acrylic on canvas Available Sometimes if I am driving home and I see a nice sunset I make a stop at the park to have a clear vision of the sky, across the large green area. If I am lucky enough I get decent photos from the view. This was one of those times. I started the painting in acrylics, and actually meant to finish with acrylics, but then decided that it needed some of the buttery consistence of oil paint, and covered most of it with a layer of oil paint, though some of the acrylic colors are still visible. At this point it's impossible even for me to know which is which. “The purpose of learning is growth,  and our minds, unlike our bodies,  can continue growing as long as we live.” ~ Mortimer Adler