Robie Benve Art

This is a better photo of my latest plein air painting, done at a local farm. The last post did not have the final painting, only work in progress shots. "I'll Be Bright With You" 9"x12" Oil on linen panel $250 I found this lovely view at the OSU farm, it’s very close to my house, yet I had never thought to paint there before, I wasn’t sure it was allowed, but they were super friendly and excited about the idea of an artist painting the farm.  I ended up going back a couple of times to finish the painting. The second day the sunflower heads were already drooping down, but I have the shapes already in place, so it was easy to keep going.

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.

"I'm not talking to you!" 6"x6", Oil on stretched canvas, unframed Sold Hello world, this was my daily painting from yesterday that I could not post because of a squirrel. Apparently he thought it was a good idea to have fun with the electric lines, and managed to leave us all in the dark - and with no internet! So I'm posting the painting today, while today's painting is started but not done yet. Ah, the hard life of an artist!  :)))))) (honey, that's for you if you are reading this, lol) These two sunflowers seemed to have an attitude going on, I couldn't hold a smile while I was painting because I was imagining all kind of silly reasons for their temporary grudge. Here is to a fast and fun reconciliation! :) Nice and hot outside, hope you are all enjoying this fine day! Ciao  

 "Sunflower bunch #1" 3” x 3” (7.6 cm x 7.6 cm) Today I got my old watercolors out, and embarked in some small paintings. I hadn’t used watercolors for years, but amazingly none of the colors had dried! Everything was in great condition… the only rusty thing are my skills. Lol I did a couple of versions of this sunflower bunch, a great exercise to get the juices flowing. If you have tips for me on how to get better results, please share them in the comments. Thanks! :)   "Sunflower bunch #2" 3” x 3” (7.6 cm x 7.6 cm)