Robie Benve Art

"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.

"Heading South" 18"x24" oil on canvas, framed Available Several months ago my friend Rene Nitsche posted a beautiful sunset photo on facebook and I was immediately inspired to paint it. It took me a while, but here is the finished piece. I took some artistic liberty and added a flock of birds at the horizon. I think it adds a nice touch, and it also inspired the title. I love the warmth and the sense of serenity that comes out of this scene. : )     Blessings, Robie

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. :)

"Sunset at Silver Lake" 20"x24" Oil on Canvas SOLD This painting reminds me of a wonderful mother and daughter weekend at a local camp site. The sunset was stunning. My daughter made fun of me when I" had to" leave the dinner table and go out to take photos of the amazing natural show. I enjoyed painting it as well as seeing it.  : ) Oil Painting for Beginners Step by Step Oil Painting Tools and Materials for Beginners

I have two paintings in the 2016 Dublin Area Art League Spring Show, and this is one of them. The other painting in the show is "Shine Your Light" (see previous post) which got an award. When I gave a talk for the Conversation and Coffee event last September, at the Columbus Arts Center, in the audience there was Inga Smith, a talented photographer, that offered to share some of her sunset pictures with me. (How wonderful is that??) She sent me some gorgeous shots of Hawaiian sunsets, and I picked one of Kamaoli Beach II as reference for this painting. "Holding Hands at Kamaoli Beach II" 20"x24" Oil on canvas Available I loved painting it, even with the challenges that I encountered; it has been fun figuring out how to render with paint the different effects in the clouds, foreground, and changes of light. Thanks for stopping by!

I entered two paintings in the Spring Solace art show by the Dublin Area Art League members. Last night was the award ceremony and I was happily surprised to hear that I received an Honorable Mention award in the fine art category for my painting "Shine Your Light". Me next to my awarded painting. Can you see the "happily surprised" expression? lol The Judge of the competition was Vivian Ripley, artist. This is her comment on the award:  "Shine Your Light" holds my attention with its excellent design depicting a specific time of day using complimentary colors."   Thanks Vivian!  "Shine Your Light" Oil on Canvas 20"x24" (51 x 61 cm) Available The Spring Solace show will be up at the Dublin Recreation Center until May 14th, 2016. 5600 Post Road, Dublin, OH. Free entrance. The show includes a great variety of paintings, drawings, mixed media, digital art, and photography. If you are in the area,...

Sometimes not much is asked of us. There are times when we just need to B e . Be there and enjoy the moments. "Guarding" 5"x7" Oil on masonite NFS We all have a purpose in life, and that purpose is usually not obvious. It may take stillness and inaction to be able to understand it. Focusing on feelings helps. A lot. Listening to my instincts and gut feelings has been helping me in my major decisions. I learned that... If it doesn't feel right it probably isn't. Not seeing a better solution in sight is not a good reason for making wrong choices. (Feeling inspired and pensive today :)   “Painting is an attempt to come to terms with life.  There are as many solutions as there are human beings.”      ~ George Tooker 

"Dance with Me" 8"x10" Oil on canvas Available I am falling behind with my posts of daily paintings, but I have been painting more than it seems, I promise. :) This is the painting I completed last Thursday, started at the Cultural Arts Center in the morning, and finished in my studio at home in the evening. However, this week I had a hard time taking good photos of my paintings. My trusted old Canon Powershot broke, and I bought the exactly same one from ebay to replace it, but for some reason the same settings don't render the colors the same way the old one did. It takes more patience and editing in Photoshohp to make it look like the actual painting. So, here is last week's painting, In a moment of romanticism I decided to call it Dance with Me. :)

"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

"Sunset on River Brenta" 6"x6" oil on panel Available The region where I grew up is called "Riviera del Brenta", and it's gorgeous area, full of cute little towns and several villas and palaces that are more than 400 years old, scattered along this river, the Brenta. Credit for the reference photo goes to my friend Gianluca Lazzari, my classmate in high school, and now connected through facebook. He has a natural artist eye, and takes the most gorgeous captures of his everyday landscape scenes. Thanks to the social media I get to see his photos. BTW, today is the 7th and I am posting the 5th daily painting of the month... something does not add up! lol To be honest I have skipped one day of painting (yesterday) for lack of time, and the day before I started this small painting, but did not get to finish it, so here it is!

"Shine Your Light" 20"x24" Oil on Canvas $460 Sunshine, ocean shore, and flying seagull. What says relaxation and freedom more than that? :) OK, you may have guessed it, this painting is not a "daily painting", meaning that I couldn't have done it in one day only. However, I did finish it today, so it counts as today's painting posting, even though it took several sessions to complete. :) Sides are 1.5 " deep and painted dark, so technically it does not need a frame.

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

"Glimpse" 20"x24" Oil on Canvas Available Every year the Dublin Area Art League (DAAL) has a fall show. It's time for another great art exhibit! I entered two paintings, and Glimpse is one of them. I love this painting. It's from a photo that a friend posted on facebook one day that he went biking in Italy. The moment I saw it I knew I had to try painting it! The reference picture, photo by Gianluca Lazzari. The "Color my World" show is judged, prizes are awarded, artwork is on display for several weeks in a high traffic location... what's not to like?? Entry categories are digital and non-digital fine art. $530 in prizes will be awarded on Thursday the 19th. If you are local, you may want to join us for our reception and award ceremony: Nov 19th, 6:30 pm at the Dublin Rec Center, 5600 Post Rd. Of course this is Dublin, Ohio, not Ireland, just in case you were wondering ______  __  ______ Are you receiv...

"Believe in Life" 20"x24" Oil on Canvas $460 Prints Available Sometimes it feels like winter inside. Some days are harder to live. There are seasons in our lives when all the fun seems far, far away, and our world seems dark and cold. Those are the days to NEVER GIVE UP. Life is creeping withing. Have faith. It'll be better. It's not really that bad, it's mainly your perception of it at this particular time, in these circumnstances. Believe in life. The miracle will happen, as it always happens for the trees in spring.

"Just Mowed" 6"x6" Oil on board Available Sometimes, when I go out and paint on location with a group, other painters are surprised at the small size of my board. A 6"x6" looks quite small on an easel (and even off the easel, lol) But painting small is a wonderful way to give myself the opportunity to finish the painting in one sitting, on location, taking fully advantage of the limited time available. I usually am productive for a couple of hours tops, then I need to take a break. If I'm with a group I love to walk around to see what everyone else is painting. That gives me an extra boost, because I have some excellent painting companions, and their work can be very inspirational. After two hours a 6"x6" is very close to completion. So the break provides a "fresh view"upon my return, and I am able to better see what's needed as far as finishing touches. If I paint a bigger size board I often end up going home wit...

"Brick House" 6"x6" Oil on Gesso board Available I tried to paint this house in the German Village in the spring but was not successful. I went back to Schiller Park this week, and tried again, this time on a smaller gesso board, and some miracle happened, because I quite liked the final result. :) Painting en plein air is lovely, I usually prefer natural landscape subjects, but mainly because buildings and structures are quite challenging to paint - for me. When I tried painting homes before I got this inner friction between my natural instinct to paint tightly, and the will to paint loosely, and often what comes out is none of the two. As we say in Italy the result "non e` ne' carne ne' pesce" (it's neither meat nor fish). lol This time I focused on the pattern of ligh and shadow, and I enjoyed painting it! :)

"Dancing Light" 6"x6" Oil on Gessobord SOLD Today I went to a local park to paint, it was part of a En Plein Air painting class, and I had a lot of fun painting this small landscape scene of the woods. The challenge for me was trying to render the patches of light that came through the leaves and spotted the scene here and there. I like the result; I need to try this again. :) This was #4 of my thirty paintings in 30 days challenge. :) Here is how the painting looks framed:

"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:

"After the Storm" 6"x6" Oil on Gessobord $45 Buy Now Day one of the painting challenge. The goal is to create thirty paintings in thirty days, and day one is DONE - nothing better than starting with the right foot.  :) This is the way the sky looked one evening of this summer, not sure when.  All I remember is that I was at the park near home and I stood mesmerized looking at the clouds changing shape and color above me. We had many storms  this year and most of them created spectacular clouds and amazing sunsets. I love looking to the clouds, and sometimes I even remember to take reference photos.  :)