Robie Benve Art

Today I did something a little different for my 20-minute challenge. I used an abstract underpainting that I had ready in the studio, on a panel a bit bigger than the previous days, you can see how it looked like below. I went from a 6x6 to a 8x8. It does not seem like much of a difference but it's a good 28 extra square inches that need to be covered with paint in the same 20 minutes. The abstract base made it a little more challenging, but also so much fun! I stretched a little the rules and worked some extra minutes after the timer went off. I just needed a few extra touches. :) Here is the final painting. "Spring River" 8"x8" Mixed Media on panel, acrylic and paper $80 Do you want to see the abstract mixed media base from which I started? Here it is :) Made with paper, acrylic paint, and custom hand-cut stencils. Mixed media abstract underpainting acrylic and paper Fun!

I have several wonderful photos from my time at the Bahamas and I am quite scared of trying to paint that amazing water. I already know there is no way that it'll look as wonderful as in the photo in one of my paintings. So, what's better than a quick painting challenge to embrace that challenge letting all fear go? Here it is, a 20-minute study of a paradise. "Bahamas Peer" 6"x6" acrylic on panel $45 To be attempted again. And again. And again. :) Next time I need to remember to set the sound of the waves as background "music".

"Going With the Flow II" 6"x6" acrylic on board $45 Second day of quick painting challenge, I had to make two pieces to actually end up with one that I liked. So I got double practice today, yay me. :) I really like the looseness of the strokes and the colors of this study.

Daily Painting Challenge Ok, this time is not a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge, this is a challenge that says "paint fast, with no time to overthink it, create a painting in 20 minutes, with no pressure to create a masterpiece, just get it done and practice quick decision making and fuss-less application. Do it for five days in a row." And day one is DONE!  :) I painted this on a 6"x6" wood panel, using acrylic paint. It took me a few extra minutes, but I was in a room with other painters and we were having a nice conversation, so I cut myself a little slack. Here it is.... "Purple Trees" 6"x6" acrylic on wood panel Daily Challenge: a 20-minute painting $45 The questions that go through my head at the end of the process: Is if finished? Do I like it? Would I call it successful? Sometimes the answers are not that straight forward, it might take a few days without looking at the painting and then, when I see it with fresh e...

   I've been posting images of my sold originals on my FineArtAmerica profile, and they are available for 2D prints, but also all kinds of cool merchandize, like cups, shower courtains, and tote bags. Today I received a payment through paypal, yay!! Thanks a lot to the person in San Francisco, CA that made the order. That's the only info that I get, the site handles all the manufacturing and shipping. And they do a great job at it! Here is the link to my PRINT STORE , check it out.  :)

Do you ever have periods in which things go well and you are afraid to wake up?  I'm in such a period right now. Things are going well, and I am so afraid the it will end out of the blue, just like it started. But hey, in the meantime, I'm doing my best to enjoy every minute of it. Never waste something good, right? Home-life is going great and my artistic endeavor is giving me some satisfactions that I thought would never come. Not only people are buying my paintings, which is amazing all by itself - to know that they are willing to pay for the products of me having fun in the studio, and keep them in their home, where they look at them every day, how wonderful is that?? Also, I am now represented by a super nice art gallery, and the owner invited me to participate in a small group show of mixed media art. Yay! It was supposed to be a solo show for one of the other two artists but, being over-committed, she requested to have someone else to share the space with, and...

"Clouds on Blue" 8"x10, Oil on board Sold How on Earth Do You Paint Clouds? I used to find clouds very challenging and intimidating to paint. Then, one day, in 2013, I jumped right in, during a painting workshop, I asked the teacher - Kim Casebeer, a very talented plein air painter - to help me paint clouds, she gave me one of the million photos she took of Kansas skies and lands and advised me to start from that. I started, I made mistakes, I corrected them, and I only asked her for advice a few times, but knowing I had her available if I got stuck made me braver, and I broke the ice with painting clouds. Well, technically, I had painted clouds before, but with effort and doubtful results. Look at me now: skyscapes are among my favorite subject! Between sunsets, sunrises, and cloudy skies, that's a big part of my body of work. This is the reference photo for the painting above. I took it at the soccer stadium while waiting for the Crew game to ...