"Oh Yeh, I Forgot... I Did Say That, Didn't I?"

Two of my favorite birds...

Oh, I guess about ten years ago or so, Therese and I talked about having one of those hall trees, but we never could decide which ones would work for us and our foyer. We compromised by purchasing this small, but well made, little wall hanger with three hooks for each one of us to hang jackets, coats, blazers, or anything we didn't wanna hang up because we'd probably use it again hours later.

The next discussion, which took years, was where were we gonna hang this puppy. Because we couldn't agree on a placement, it was put away in my locker, and every winter, it bothered me being not used.

This year, I asked Therese why we weren't utilizing this "accoutrement" and she said,"Because you said you were gonna paint something in the slots on either side of the mirror!"

"Oh yeh, I forgot... I did say that, didn't I?" I replied.

Well winter is rapidly coming to a close and so I decided it was time to create something simple, but appropriate. So, this is what I came up with.

And this is how it all comes together... finally!

Now, all I have to do is put the rack up on the wall. Too bad we still disagree on where it should go... 

Copyright 2016/ Ben Bensen III

"Those New Orleanians That Just Don't Give A Damn Call It, "Green Gumbo"...

And, this is for all my California friends that think all we eat is fried food...

I'm making phone calls to catch up on unpaid bills, medical and insurance concerns, my mom's bank accounts and boring BS that has to get done.

A glass of wine helps...

But, it occurred to me that, in classic New Orleans style, no one will show up after lunch to complete 'da day! Nothing like a three day weekend to add another half day to it, right? C'est la vie!

So, I might as well use this "down time" to start up my family's traditional and rather seasonal gumbo called by those who insist on being French or Creole, "Gombo aux Herbes. Those who can't or refuse to pronounce the name of the soup correctly, called it Gumbo Zeb, which is a distortion of the name, Gumbo Z'herb.

And then there's those New Orleanians that just don't give a damn and call it, "Green Gumbo" for good reason!

Copyright 2015/ Ben Bensen III

"Lotsa Storyboard Cars, But Never A Painted One..."

I was a car guy, but...

I'm back in 'da Bayou, from a three week vacation in California. I was thumbing through a hoard of bills, Christmas cards, and end of the year financial statements, when "what to my surprise" I ran across a letter from Jean Bragg Gallery. Inside, I received my first check ever from a gallery. Isn't it rather fitting that my first sale from any art gallery is a car.

I've rendered cars almost all my career, at agencies like Saatchi&Saatchi, RP Alpha, Team One, JWT, Y&R, you name 'em! graphicgumbo.com But, I can't remember ever doing one in paint... well, maybe, a few!

My Plein Air, "Little Yellow Truck"


Copyright 2015/Ben Bensen III