The Official Launch of "Little Tales for Restless Charlie" is finally here!

Join us on our Kickstarter and help us get this wonderfully told, richly illustrated book into production.

Hurry, time's running out on this opportunity!

More than a book, it's an adventure. And by joining the kickstarter, you pledge to get fan favorite stickers, original art, and more. To learn more about the book, and to hear me do a read along, click through to the kickstarter page.

Time traveling fanatics LOVE “The Time Club”!

Does the idea of time travel fascinate you? Are you looking for a generational adventure story for you to pass on to your children (and your children's children) to read? (Are you looking for some fun, light-hearted fiction for yourself to read?)

Age: 6th-9th grade.

The first in a series of edge-of-your-seat time traveling YA novels. Pre-order a hardcover edition today to become one of the original "Time Clubbers!"

"The Time Club." 188 pages. YA fiction.

The Story

Somewhere west of Denver, behind the hogbacks of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, there is a high school of higher learning. Meeting after class in room 314—named affectionately after pi—are five students. Together, they, along with the Professor, are trying to figure out how to time travel.

The Professor, who may or may not have once worked for the CIA, has a mantra he keeps repeating, “Pay attention to the ordinary.” And with that, the six of them pore over the great works from the past, examining patterns and clues found in literature, artwork, and the discoveries of the great physicists. Before long, the combined prodigious brains of the Time Club working together are able to open up portals that allow them to travel from time to time and place to place.

One day, during one of their excursions, something goes wrong. Thinking all is lost—the Time Club stumble upon a painting by an obscure French painter that has secret clues to unlock in order to work their way out of a dire situation. They must work together in order to solve the mysteries of both time travel and of this strange painting in order to save themselves before they get locked forever in a prison of time!

Good day, and welcome to our site!

Painting for Life® was formed in 2004 by husband and wife team Benjamin Hummel and Cherish Flieder, as a way to showcase their artwork and make it easily accessible to their fans through products and prints. What makes Benjamin's story truly unique is that he lives with an aggressive auto-immune disorder, which leads to pain, hospitalizations, and physical struggles. Benjamin's goal is to demonstrate that even with our setbacks and disabilities, that we can still contribute to this world. To find out more, read "Our Story".

Be sure to check out Cherish's watercolor designs through her Something to Cherish® brand.

What you will find here:

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Puppets for Sale

A few years back, we inherited over 100 puppets from my mother’s puppet business. We sold and gave away many, but we still have plenty of used, slightly used, collectible, and new puppets that we simply need to clear out of our art studio. (Having puppet eyes stare at me while I paint at 2…

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The story behind the art: Raindrops

New Art! Introducing my latest creation titled: “Driving Through Rural America While Raining Before The Windshield Wipers Are Turned On.” You may call it “Raindrops 01” if the title is a little too lengthy. Where did this painting idea come from? Well, it came as a class demo. Having created several landscapes in acrylic, we…

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“Words of Character” Art Show and Gathering

You are cordially invited to the “Words of Character” Art Show and Gathering. “Words of Character,” is an art show of 12 surrealistic paintings, depicting greater themes of life and journey by award winning illustrator Benjamin J Hummel.  How it all began It all began with a men’s group at the start of 2023. Annually,…

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Mele Kalikimaka – Art Drop Monday

Mele Kalikimaka is the painting for you! This acrylic on canvas painting is one that we hung over the Christmas holidays. As it comes down, and before we file it away into storage, I’m willing to offer it at half it’s regular price, for anybody who cares to hang on to a little bit of…

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Art Drop Monday

As promised, every other Monday is “Art Drop Mondays”. This is where I upload new affordable matted sketches, studies and minor compositions to the Gallery section of my website. Today’s three offerings are: “Swing,” “Stately Man,” and “A Lady on a Stroll.” The Stories Behind The Art “Swing” This gem of a piece came about…

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Colorado Day is August 1st!

Colorado Day is August 1st, so be sure to merch up in celebration. Starting with a super cool wall art print to a snazzy tee shirt, you can display your Colorado colors proudly in variety of sizes. This all started as a commissioned painting. I was given a whiskey barrelhead and told to paint the…

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Let me tell you about Audrey…

By now, many of you are familiar with my Audrey Hepburn portraiture piece. Simply titled, “Audrey,” here is the story of how she came to be. For many years now, I have become known for a unique caricature illustration style, created with acrylics on illustration board and enhanced with colored pencil. From this style, I’ve…

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New Print Designs Released!

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RELEASED: Our 2020 Designs!

Are you sending Christmas cards this year? You should. Of all years, I think there isn’t a more appropriate year to try and reestablish our humanity to each other. We have been restricted in our ability to congregate and see each other, so why not send a tangible item to remind them that you still…

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Last Day! Hat Shop Musicians

While life can be filled with its ups and downs, every once in a while some days are simply magical. Such was an early May morning in Boulder recently. Started the morning off with friends and colleagues, and concluded with a walk down Pearl Street Mall with my lovely wife. Being a fan of hats,…

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