Robie Benve Art

Happy me in front of the ArtPop Street Gallery billboard featuring my painting "It'll Be Grand". Oh my, there are times when you hope for things, you want them very hard, and everything goes wrong. But there are other times when you think "that sounds interesting, I'll give it a try" and you get the the best results.  The first time I applied for the ArtPop Street Gallery Columbus, in 2019, I thought I had a strong piece, but did not get selected. It was a little disappointing. So, this year I applied again. Even if I had very low expectations, I tried to do it right. I chose a piece I really liked, I cropped it just right, and I made sure I followed all the technical requirements of the online submission.  Then I moved on and kind of forgot about it for several weeks. The Advantages of Submitting for a Juried Art Competition I think submitting for any juried competition is a win-win, especially when, like in this case, there is no submission fee. It takes a...

"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...

This Saturday, don't look for me at home because I'll be in the Short North Arts District at the  opening reception for the Summer Show of Art. I dropped off several of my latest paintings on Monday, 15 pieces to be precise; three are mid-size, 12 are smaller. I'm thrilled to be exhibiting with such a talented group of artists, I can't wait to see the show hanging. The show is going to be on view for three months, and pieces will be rotating on the walls - hopefully many will be leaving with happy buyers. SUMMER Show of ART at Marcia Evans Gallery 8 E Lincoln St Columbus, OH How exciting is this!? It's a pleasure to work with Marcia Evans, and the other artists are all amazing people, I'm looking forwad to getting to know them better at the reception on Saturday. Also, I'm still debating it, but I might even do a demo or paint-on-location kind of thing, towards the end of the opening. I don't know, it's going to depend on the w...

"Short North" 8"x10" Mixed Media on wood panel (Acrylic and paper) SOLD I love the Columbus Short North with its characteristic arches. A pleasure to paint. The area is undergoing some major renovations and improvements and its getting better and better. High Street is where you find the life of the party. :) This painting will be available in a few days through Marcia Evans Gallery 8 E Lincoln St, in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, OH.

"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

"City Hub" 9"x12" Mixed media on canvas Framed $225 Available at Marcia Evans Gallery 8 E Lincoln St, Columbus, OH 43215 Guess what? Another mixed media study of the Short North, in Columbus, OH. Experimenting with acrylic paint, fabric, paper, thread, and custom made stencils. The fun continues. It may seem that I'm going in a totally different direction, but it's still me, just having fun and exploring. :) Thanks for looking.

"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.

"Switch On" Acrylic, paper, and fibers on canvas 8"x10" $140 Another image of the Short North Arts District in Columbus, Ohio. Every first Saturday of the month there is the Gallery Hop. I missed the September one, but at the August Gallery Hop I took lots of pictures, that means I have a lot of different views of the Arts District to work from. Just a hint to let you know what might be coming from my easel in the near future, lol. I used to be scared of painting cars, they are a hard subject, now I'm actually learning to embrace the challenge. I think I'm liking the progress, they look like cars in traffic, right? :) Available at Marcia Evans Gallery 8 E Lincoln St, Columbus, OH 43215

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...