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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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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After The Cattle Drive: The story behind the art

It’s the end of the 1800s and cattle ranching is a good profession into which a young man can invest his life. This isn’t to say that it’s easy living. For months on end, the elements of outdoor nature pound brutally against him as he tries to make sure not a single head of cattle…

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Forcing the big shapes

Because I struggle with zooming out and painting the big shapes first, I forced myself to conduct a little exercise. I wanted to see how loose I could go while still maintaining recognizability. So I grabbed an Anthropology ad and found a great photo to work with, and I let go, trying to paint as…

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New Art: "In His Image"

This piece started as a tribute to an organization called Kimmy’s House. Kimmy’s House focuses on ministering to special needs orphans in India and Haiti. The need is great. Either because of cultural beliefs or because of lack of resources, the special needs orphans of India and Haiti often times suffer great neglect, and can…

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Color comps: The key to good art

Below are five good reasons why one should create color comps in the same media as their final illustration or painting. One mistake I used to make was doing my color comp in a medium other than the one I was going to use for the final illustration. But after looking at Rockwell’s color comps,…

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A Word About Rosie's Ranch

I want to take the opportunity to use this post to highlight for you a very special place in Parker, Colorado. It’s called, “Rosie’s Ranch” and it is a place where children with oral language difficulties can come and learn about horses and the care of horses, while developing crucial life skills. A beautiful, remodeled…

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