Robie Benve Art

"Breathing" 8"x10" Mixed Media on panel Sold A painting from when I finally got over the shock of becoming allergic to oils and took the courage to paint en plain air with acrylic and mixed media. I loved creating this baby at Hoover Reservoir Park. The day started foggy and gray and I almost did not go out to paint. Once there, the sun came out and made it a very enjoyable experience. First, I created an abstract and colorful mixed media under-painting with paper, acrylic gel, and hand-cut stencils. Then, I picked my subject and started painting with acrylic paint and palette knife. I love how loose it came out and how the bright under-painting glows through in several spots. I think I've found a great way to use acrylics outdoors. They dry so quickly that I thought it was impossible, but this technique makes it faster and doable. Yay!!

I'm a little late posting this, it has been a very busy week. Day five of the 20-minute challenge "A Walk on the Beach" 8"x8" Mixed Media, acrylic and paper Available on my website The fun I had doing this is hard to explain. Mostly due to the fact that I worked from a mixed media under-painting done with paper, acrylic gel, plus hand-cut stencils and acrylic paint. The random texture and patterns on the base made the behavior of the paint very unpredictable, and I really enjoy the ground color shining through. I created the under-painting before deciding what I would paint on it.

I really like the impressionistic look I get when I paint a landscape on location. "Walking the Dog at Schiller Park" 12"x12" Oil on panel Available I kept this painting very loose but at the same time detailed enough to know exactly what you are seeing, and there are quite a few things that I like about it. My favorite detail is probably the person walking the dog, the moment he walked by I just had to capture that red shirt and its reflection on the water. Just what all that green needed!

"Schiller Park Bridge" 9"x12" Oil on panel Sold   Plein air painting is all about immersing yourself in the landscape during the painting process, and fully enjoying the experience . After many spring outings with awful weather, this day was really beautiful. Sunny and breezy. I finally truly enjoyed every second of it. Sometimes I add a few final touches to the plain air paintings in the studio, after I get home. That's because: 1. Two hours are usually not enough (at least for me) to complete a painting and also add final details. 2. Back in my studio I can look at the painting with fresh eyes, and notice right away some things or changes that are needed. But this time I did not touch it any more. This is true 100% done on location, with no come-backs. Some areas are a little unresolved, but I like that. In my learning curve of painting skills and techniques, I am at the point where I try to stop while I am ahead. Too often I end up over-wor...

"Hopes and Smiles" 12'x12" Oil on  linen panel in floater frame Sold Another en plein air landscape painting of the Park of Roses, in Clintonville, OH. I did this one day after the previous post. I really loved that tall tree with cool colors, and I enjoyed the challenge of painting it, as well as the sprinkles of the fountain.

Ahhh, Spring! I hadn't painted outdoors in a while!! (I'm a little late posting this, but it has been a busy few weeks)  Spring in Ohio is crazy, you never know what you are going to get, one day it may be in the 70s and the day after it may snow. Planning an outdoors painting session is always risky. First Pein Air Outing: Pickerington Ponds Metro Park My first day of plein air painting in 2018 was on March 29, very early on the calendar, and I was a little worried about it; you are very likely to get a snow blizzard in Ohio at the end of March. However, it turned out to be a gray and rainy day, but not too cold. I met with a group of eager artists, lead by the awesome teacher: Joseph Lombardo, in Pinkerington Ponds Metro Park. Joe always does a demo at the beginning of class, then the group breaks out and we each start our own painting.  Since I've taken Joe's plein air classes several times now, I decided to paint along during the demo, instead of sitti...

Last week I went to the Bryn Du Mansion, in Granville, Ohio and volunteered at the 14th Annual Fine Art Juried Show.  One of my paintings, Heading South , has been accepted in the professional category, and I was looking forward to seeing this wonderful show of talented amateur and professional artists. Truly a lot of talent in the exhibit! I volunteer as a docent in the morning and giving a demo in the afternoon. Me painting a demo at Bryn Du Mansion. This has been the first time that I've ever offered a demo with a live audience, I was a little nervous and really did not know what to expect. A couple of art lovers sat through the whole process, a few other patrons came and went. I am very grateful for the two that stayed the whole time because they allowed me to learn a lot of things about myself and the demo-giving process.   I had a lot of fun during the demo! My painting at the end of the demo, still a lot of work to do. I didn't think I woul...

Here I am, still having fun creating compositions just following my instinct, without much plan. I don't know how they look to others, probably experienced and professional abstract painters would be appalled to see them, but to me they are a lot of fun and very stimulating. I feel like as soon as I finish one I think of things that I could have done differently, and I can't wait to start a new one to try them out. And if that's what it takes to find the inspiration to create a new one every day, for 30 days, I'm happy. "Blub Blub" 15"x20" Mixed Media on watercolor paper In Blub Blub I used water-soluble markers for the initial drawing, and I sprayed them with water to make the lines fuzzy and lose. Then I added liquid ink from Inktense Sticks, acrylic stencil, paper collage, and just a little Chinese brush ink. Below is a close up shot. Blub Blub Detail Fun! :)  

I was commissioned by some good friends to paint this view of Bassano, a town in Italy that they love very much. I've had it on my easel for a while, keeping it on the back burner, adding some more paint every once in a while. One of the reasons I procrastinated was that they had no rush. The other reason was that I was afraid to mess it up for them. Now it's done, ready for delivery.  And with great relief I think it turned out well.  : ) The view is quite similar to the real one, I only "moved" several elements closer to each other, so that they all fit in the painting: the home, the bridge, and the trees on the left of the building were visible from slightly different points of views. A few preliminary sketches helped me visualize how I could fit them all in the same scene. "Bassano" Oil on canvas 18"x24" Sold As much as I was intimidated at the beginning, I actually enjoyed the whole painting process very much. I was afraid that...

"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.

"A Stroke of Spring" Oil on masonite board Ready to pop into a 9"x12" frame Available Spring seemed to come and go this year in Oh io .  A few days of warmth, and nature was rejoicing, tender green leaves were sprouting everywhere.  Then winter seemed to come back, and it got freezing cold again, like on this c-c-cold day when I painted at Pickerington Ponds Metro Park.  But the signs of spring were there to cheer me up , and I enjo ed every minute of it. : )

6"x6" Oil painting Still untitled Today was the first day of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge! Luckily enough I had a great plein air class scheduled for today, so I got to get out with a group of talented and like-minded artists and enjoy a great day of painting outdoors.  Our teacher is the amazing Joe Lombardo.  Here is a photo of the group watching Joe's demo at Three Creeks Metro Park in Groveport, OH.

"Sticking Out For You" 9"x12" Oil on Board All winter I waited for spring to get the opportunity to paint outside. I love to go to the local parks and challenge myself to paint despite the changing light, the wind, the bugs, and so on. Two things I could do without when I paint outdoors: cold and rain. On the day I painted this painting it was sooo freezing! And it was raining too! Not the best conditions for the first outdoor painting of the year! lol I've been tempted to give up and stop painting so many times during the session, but I liked that tree quite a bit, and that kept me going. I have to say, considering the weather, the frozen limbs, and the rain wetting my palette, I made surprising progress on the painting, it was practically finished when I took it home. So here it is: my first plein air painting of 2016. painted at Schiller's Park, in the heart of Columbus' German Village, in a freezing day of this crazy April 2016.

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,...

"Evening Beach" 5"x7" Oil on panel SOLD One more version of the beach we stayed last summer, in the small town of Briatico, in Calabria, Italy. I really liked the feeling of calm of that small beach, it was cozy and picturesque. This small painting could really be a study for a bigger painting. We'll see. :)

"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.

"Afternoon Beach, study" 8"x10" Oil on gesso board Available Day three of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, and I have completed another one, woohoo! This is a quick study of an afternoon beach, from a photo that I took last summer in Calabria, Italy. To get to the beach you had to go down several steps, and the photo was taken from up the stairs, looking down. I completed this study fairly quickly, and had fun including the figures and the umbrellas. I don't usually include people in my paintings, but simplified people are great to give a sense of proportions.

"Scioto banks" 8"x10" Oil on Gesso Board Available Second day of the year, another painting done. This is one of my favorite locations along the Scioto river. I took the photo in the fall, when I went there to paint en plein air. Today I have done this painting in a quick study style, wet on wet, like I would have done if I was on location, where you have to paint in one go to finish before the light changes dramatically, or before it's time to pick up the kids from school, at each his/her priorities. :) I think I succeeded rendering the impression of the view, and that was the goal, so I consider it a success. Thanks very much for stopping by.

"Scioto River" 12"x12" Oil on Board SOLD This is one of my daily paintings for the month of September. 30 days of painting, even though I will not end up with 30 artworks, because some days I am working on bigger pieces - I don't actually get to finish one a day. I really enjoyed painting this landscape, for many reasons. Here are a few: I love this location for plein air, it's at Scioto Park in Dublin, OH. I was able to cover a 12"x12" completely with paint in a relatively short amount of time, which means I am becoming more confident (thus fast) in my painting decisions. The day was just gorgeous: sun shining, light breeze, birds everywhere, including a blue heron and a bald eagle (for real!). The magic of painting outdoors: you get to experience and appreciate the surrounding nature. I had fun rendering the rocks and the water with paint. Both are always a challenge, but I embraced it with positive attitude and I liked the results. ...