Robie Benve Art

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...

The 30 in 30 Challenge Has Ended! On February 1st I embraced the challenge of creating 30 pieces in 30 days, and I committed to exploring mixed media for 30 days. How did I do? Overall, I feel like it went well! The month started very productively. I was painting and posting daily, then I've fallen behind with the daily postings , but even if on a few days I did not find the time or the energy to paint, I learned more about mixed media and about myself, what I like. This journey can be summarized in four key points:   Color  -  Texture  -  Simple Shapes   -  Fibers Some of my colorful creations from the 30 in 30 challenge (Feb 2018) 1. Color The first thing I realized, on the first days of the challenge, is that I LOVE COLOR SO MUCH. Color is what had me inspired to paint at the very beginning, and somehow I abandoned the idea of painting with "made up" colors, and I started painting things as I see them....

Another piece experimenting mixed media with the last layers applied with oil pastels. How fun! "Rainbow Dove Study" 10"x15" Mixed Media on paper Quick sketching, abstract patterns, bold colors, peaceful message... I loved all parts of this study. I used ink, acrylic paint, markers, and oil pastels. Note to self: I need to remember the feeling of freedom and expression that I had while making this, and the lack of fear. Adding layers of colors and shapes without worrying about the outcome paradoxically lead to an outcome that I really like. It could be a start for something new in my style. Let's see what happens on the future paintings. I expect more color, for sure. :)

I fell behind posting my daily mixed media daily paintings and studies, the 30 days are almost over so I need to get busy posting now. In this painting I tried oil pastels after a looong time, I think last time I used oil pastels I was in middle school... let's skip over how long ago that was. I stated with markers, ink, and acrylic paint, then I drew ad pained with oil pastels, and finally I smoothed them out with odorless turpentine. "Yellow Dove Study" 10"x15" Mixed Media on paper I hope you can tell I was having fun and feeling free while doing it.

It's no mystery what inspired this piece of another strong woman, full of knowledge. My house is truly full of music these days. Between the kids practicing their instruments, my radio, and the Festival of the Italian Music that aired this week, it has been hard to choose what to listen to. Furthermore, my daughter shared with us her research project about how music makes you smarter and  healthier. It came as a natural thing to include musical notes and symbols with this figure. "Musical" 15"20" mixed media on paper There were a few more things that I wanted to add, but I ran out of time, so I'll keep the ideas for the next one. Below are some shots of the progress steps. beginning Drawing and ink acrylic paint Paint, markers, colored pencil, and tissue paper more of all the above almost done "Musical" final stage “Music gives a soul to the universe,  wings to the mind,  flight to the imaginati...

In this one I drew a figure and then I overlapped geometrical shapes to it, playing with colors and contrasts. I made it a couple of days ago, but added a few finishing touches today. "Perception" 15"x20" Mixed media on paper Below are the photos that show the progression, in case you are interested. Beginning work in progress I work in progress II "Perception" This si a fun month! I'm loving the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, even if I am a little behind with the posting, I have been working on 2-3 pieces at the time, so I always have one very near the end or finished every day, sometimes no time to post.  : )