Sometimes the Class Demo Turns Out Alright

One of the requirements of being an Art Instructor, is that you must possess enough confidence to create art in front of a learning audience… and hope to everything you don’t mess up. Fortunately for me, performance has never been an issue, my years as a chalk artist should have proven that. Most demos are…
Read More

It’s Finally Here, My Liver Transplant Movie!

The video is 20 minutes long, so it’s perfect if you are looking for something to listen to as you do chores. Or you can follow along and enjoy the presentation. Regardless, I aim to entertain, and this true story is hard to believe it actually happened. Yet, it did, and here I am, having…
Read More

The First Fully Finished Piece Since My Liver Transplant!

New Art! This is titled “Rooms.” It is the first, okay maybe second, real finished piece since my liver transplant.  It was post liver transplant. I was at home, a fraction of my original self, starting on the long journey toward recovery. Up until this point, I had not created any meaningful art since before the transplant. The heavy anesthetics…
Read More

Returning From Near Death

Sooo… I haven’t sent one of these e-zines out in a while. Some of you follow me on Facebook. For those who do not, below is a very brief description of what transpired since November of last year. As you know, the auto-immune disease I was born with had wreaked so much havoc on my…
Read More

“Narnia Awakens” New Art by Benjamin Hummel!

We’re please to announce the newest completed illustrated masterpiece by Benjamin Hummel . For those familiar with the works of CS Lewis, you might recognize the narrative in this painting. It does indeed come from “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and features the three protagonists of Lucy, Aslan, and Susan, after Aslan’s resurrection.…
Read More

It’s Christmas in July!

The 2025 Christmas Card Collection has been finalized, printed, and delivered. It’s Christmas in July and our 2025 Christmas card collection has been finalized and printed. We are no longer taking pre-orders, but we are offering 25% off of all our Christmas Card designs, including our new releases up until September 1. Be sure to…
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Check out our book bundle collections!

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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Sometimes the Class Demo Turns Out Alright

One of the requirements of being an Art Instructor, is that you must possess enough confidence to create art in front of a learning audience… and hope to everything you don’t mess up. Fortunately for me, performance has never been an issue, my years as a chalk artist should have proven that. Most demos are…

It’s Finally Here, My Liver Transplant Movie!

The video is 20 minutes long, so it’s perfect if you are looking for something to listen to as you do chores. Or you can follow along and enjoy the presentation. Regardless, I aim to entertain, and this true story is hard to believe it actually happened. Yet, it did, and here I am, having…

The First Fully Finished Piece Since My Liver Transplant!

New Art! This is titled “Rooms.” It is the first, okay maybe second, real finished piece since my liver transplant.  It was post liver transplant. I was at home, a fraction of my original self, starting on the long journey toward recovery. Up until this point, I had not created any meaningful art since before the transplant. The heavy anesthetics…

Returning From Near Death

Sooo… I haven’t sent one of these e-zines out in a while. Some of you follow me on Facebook. For those who do not, below is a very brief description of what transpired since November of last year. As you know, the auto-immune disease I was born with had wreaked so much havoc on my…

“Narnia Awakens” New Art by Benjamin Hummel!

We’re please to announce the newest completed illustrated masterpiece by Benjamin Hummel . For those familiar with the works of CS Lewis, you might recognize the narrative in this painting. It does indeed come from “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and features the three protagonists of Lucy, Aslan, and Susan, after Aslan’s resurrection.…

It’s Christmas in July!

The 2025 Christmas Card Collection has been finalized, printed, and delivered. It’s Christmas in July and our 2025 Christmas card collection has been finalized and printed. We are no longer taking pre-orders, but we are offering 25% off of all our Christmas Card designs, including our new releases up until September 1. Be sure to…

“Story Time.” A Solo Art Show at Eloise May Library

This SATURDAY! JULY 12, 11:00am – 12:30pm I call this exhibition “Story Time,” because it features the artwork made for several different children’s books through the years. It’s one thing to see the illustration printed on paper, it’s quite another to behold the original.  The opening is a Saturday morning. We did that on purpose,…

Pre-Order Your Christmas 2025 Greeting Cards

I’ve designed two new Christmas card illustrations for this year’s Christmas (yes, I know, VERY early in the season, but the art is completed, and thus I felt like sharing.) The first is your traditional Madonna and Child. This is my version and take on it. Though it gives a nod to traditional iconography, it’s…

Sing a Song About Swans

Down in Colorado Springs, Colorado, sits a hotel with great historical significance. The Broadmoor Hotel has a legendary history. Many books and documentaries have been made about it. And at the center sits a beautiful lake, backdropped by Colorado foothills. And on that lake, swam a swan. Now, I didn’t take the photograph. Cherish did.…

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…