"Aircraft Paintings And Sketches At The Three Rivers Art Festival"

Honoring the vets!

"Oh Yeh... You're The P-47 Guy"...

My Plein Air painting of a WWII dive bomber, the Dauntless!

This guy with a big smile and a cap that read, "That's All Brother!" comes up to me while I was struggling to finish my SBD painting before closing time and asks, "Ben Bensen?"

So, I replied in the affirmative. The cap with the saying,"That's All Brother" stitched on it, was from the name of an aircraft, a C-47 Skytrain, that was performing at the airshow. But, the cap gave me no clue as to who he was. I could not understand how he knew me, but I didn't know him. 

I hate when that happens! 

Actually, I really don't. It is rather flattering to know someone knows you, and has some kind of effect, be it negative or positive, from your being alive. But, his bright smile, surrounded and accentuated by a mustache and goatee, seemed to dispel any suspicious thoughts that may have entered into my "dome."

"Hi, I'm Zack Baughman!" You know me from Facebook," he said.

"Facebook, I thought... hmmmm!

Now, all day, folks were coming up to me and my aviation artist friend, Marc Poole, and introducing themselves for one reason or another. ( Both of us got hit up to donate our painting for a "good cause!" ) It truly was a blast and the ultimate ego inflator!

But, this guy, with the infectious personality, really had me stumped until I saw his tee shirt. It was  completely brown with a very familiar, silhouetted picture of a plane silkscreened on it.

"Oh yeh! Yeh... Zack Baughman... I'm sorry. You're "The P-47 Guy!"

( It seems, Zack, has been seen all over the world, and Facebook,  seated in, or standing on, or cuddling up to what is left of the few, big and burly WWII fighter... the P-47 Thunderbolt. )

He politely accepted my goofy reference, and we both had a good laugh before spending the next half hour, or so, chatting away like two long, lost brothers!

Copyright 2015/ Ben Bensen III

Once Again, File It Under... "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing!"

My P-47 Thunderbolt forty minute demo sample...

It is just too hilarious. I just don't understand what is the matter with me, sometimes.

About a month ago, an administrator for the Three Rivers Art Festival asked me if I was interested in doing a demonstration in paint because they had a slot to fill at noon on Saturday. I could paint or sketch any subject matter I choose, so in a Jack Leynnwood moment, I told the woman that I'd love to do the one hour demo…

…kinda like Jack used to at Art Center.

I was a student at Art Center a long time ago when Jack Leynnwood taught product and marker rendering. I won't go in depth about the man's credentials, professionally, except to say that as a teacher he was always demonstrating rendering techniques. He'd usually illustrate with acrylics, casein or gouache. Jack wasn't a guy that philosophized about art and the aesthetics of it. He used to lick the end of the brush, no matter what medium, ( to my knowledge, he seldom worked in oils! ) and his favorite art pencil was a Ticonderoga No.2. In other words, he was just a plain Joe doing his job!

And, he did it in class "in any key!"

Well always, in my mind, I have these visions of grandeur where there are tons of people in the audience just waiting for me to show them the way. It's not unlike the visualization techniques that athletes go through before a big play or game. I envisioned lots of kids, mostly boys, just clamoring for a lesson on how to paint a big, bad World War II aircraft. I visualized every aspect of rendering the big, silver plane with bold black and white invasion stripes. I thought about what I'd say using shapes to capture the true form, warm and cool colors, reflected light on a metallic surface, and how to maintain the center axis for all the important points in perspective. And then, when I'm finished with the painting, everyone could put their name in a hat, ( which I forgot to bring! ) and, at the end of the day, in my booth, I would pull out the name of the lucky winner of the illustration.

"Ta Dah!"

But, for me, the reality almost never happens that way. And, the reality of this demonstration was sadly, all too real. It's not like I've never given demonstrations before. If you've been in the business any length of time, eventually, you will get asked to teach or give a demo of your style or philosophy. I've taught classes at some pretty good art schools and given promo demos and such all through my years in Southern California. So, you'd think by now, I'd get a grip on my runaway imagination and self absorbed ego.

You would think!

First off, I actually drove to the festival site without my easel and paints and had to turn back around  for home to pick them up. It made me late setting up the rest of my booth in the morning. Just before noon, a block monitor came by to watch my booth as I took off, on time, to get my supplies from the car, which was parked in an "artists only" lot that was close to the demo tent. When I arrived at my car, I realized that I had left my car keys back at the booth which was three long, crowded blocks away.

By the time I returned to the "Artist's Alive Tent" with my easel, palette, water bucket and acrylic paints, I had less than forty-five minutes to paint... ANYTHING! With another artist waiting in the wings to do his metal works demonstration, I didn't have any extra time to embellish. This was in no way how I had envisioned my demonstration going. Now, the best I could hope for was an explanation of the use of ellipsis when drawing a form as mechanical as an automobile or airplane and possibly, fling some paint around.

What you see at the top of this page is a D-back Thunderbolt painted under duress. It is the result of a demo gone terribly wrong. Had there been a real audience asking questions, I never would have gotten past the initial drawing. ( I believe, including my wife, I had about six mildly interested viewers! )

Having given myself a few days to reflect, I guess I can say that at best, the experience reminds me of just how incredibly hard it is to demonstrate in a classroom situation under time restraints. Also, how one must not expect perfection to the point where it stifles or interferes with the learning process. Jack was a professional and never worried about making mistakes to the point where it stopped him from demonstrating.

At the very least, I can understand the process enough to actually laugh at my attempt to replicate a Jack Leynnwood moment…

And, probably, so can Jack!

Copyright 2013/ Ben Bensen III 

One In A Series of Collector Prints... Nixon Galloway!

Nixon's DC-3

I've been so busy doing things that really don't pertain to making a living as an artist. So, I thought that this would be a nice way to stay motivated and, at the same time, share some of my favorite artist's work.

In my line of "art," when the artwork is no longer needed to help sell an idea, it gets filed away for a couple of months and then, usually, but not always, is thrown in the dumpster. I have picked up some really nice storyboard art, sketches, and comp work from the likes of David Arkle, Larry Navarro, Rod Dryden, Ray Cadd, Jim Auckland, Chris Turner, Mike Barry, Shannon Hogan and some older and more stylistic art from guys like,"Woody" Woodcock, Ed Lunquist and a host of other really fine illustrators.

I'm told, by my illustrative compadres, that some of my work has also been saved from the giant garbage bags signed, "Basura!" I'm flattered!

And, many of these are not printed or digitized pieces, but the actual art.

Anyway, here's one in a series of twenty or so printed pieces that aviation artist, Nick Galloway, painted for United Airlines. It was a "collector's series" of water colors Nick was so famous for.

With a few more to be posted, this one is one of my favorites...

Copyright 2012-2013/Ben Bensen III 

Feeding the bass...

Feedin' da bass!

It is that time of the year, where it seems I am the caretaker of many of the animals that grace our home. The hummers need to be fed once or twice a week. The cocker spaniel, Pierre, gets his medicine in the morning, fed twice a day and he lets me know if I am late. Then, there's the bird feeder, where it seems, every other day, a four or five cup serving of seeds and peanuts keep the birds happy as they feed their new families. Titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, house finches, jays, cardinals, sparrows, and woodpeckers all await my visit around 8 am.

But the strangest recipients of nature's bounty, with a little help from me, is our bass and perch. This time of year, japanese beetles attack the yard and porch lights with an insane vengence. They hit the windows, bounce off of flood lights and if you allow it, will practically fly into your hair, shirt and pants. The beetles are very destructive to pine trees, so instead of spraying to control them, I capture twenty or so of the insects, put them in a glass container with holes punched into the top, and feed them the following morning to the fish. This will continue throughout the month of April into May.The fish follow me all around the perimeter of the back paddock pond joistling for position and chasing each other out of their territory. They practically jump out of the water as if begging for a bug or two. Wild!

The T-38 Talon...

Last, but not least, is this beautifully rendered trainer circling to land somewhere along the SoCal coast in the evening light.  I asked the owner of this print if he knew whether or not this was done in color. Can you imagine how nice that would have been. Just recently, I was on an Air Force trip to document an Air Reserve fighter squadron receiving the amazing F-22.  The guide and liason, Major Lisa Reaver, knew that I was a model maker and that I still enjoyed that hobby. As a going away present, she and the acting 477th commander presented me with a 1/72 scale model of the F-22 Raptor, a kit moulded outside the U.S. but sporting the classic "Revell" logo in the upper left corner of the boxtop. I can think of no better way of saying thanks and goodbye than that!

More about Jack Leynnwood...

 I was born in New Orleans the eldest son of six siblings. I came out the chute with a baseball glove in my hand though I was not as good as my father, who could have had a career if not for the war. I lived between two airfields, one civil and one military. It was a big influence on me. I learned to paint trying to make my model airplanes to look like they did on the boxtops. I went to high school on an athletic scholarship and met my wife to be there. As most kids of the sixties, I was in love with rock 'n roll and played guitar in a garage band for about 4 years. It was, and still is, my first love. I married my high school sweetheart in 1972, graduated from USL in advertising in "73 and starved in New Orleans as a freelance illustrator. 

Therese and I left home in 1974, to attend the Art Center College of Design, where I met one of heroes, Jack Leynnwood who made a name for himself painting model boxtops for Revell, Aurora and other model companies. Jack was a real renaissance man. He was a professional jazz musician, pilot, and WWII vet, fighting what he called "the Desert War"... in Arizona! He was a big influence on me and I took every class he taught. As a teacher, he demonstrated every day how to paint the things you needed to learn to paint in order to make a living in the crazy world of illustration. He was not against theory of art or the history of art and commercial art, and was willing to expound on those subjects, but in the cafeteria, at lunch or during breaks... not in class. Jack got me hooked up with an aerospace company for my first job out of Art Center. I worked there for three years while working on my freelance career. I left to concentrate on my freelance career as a storyboard illustrator, art director and designer. The four photos of Jack's art were given to me while I was employed at General Dynamics by a colleague who worked with Jack at Northrup! 

   In 2001, we decided to cash out of LA and move back to Louisiana. We now live in a small town north of New Orleans on a 5 acre ranch still serving the ad community not only in California, but nationwide. Please check my website and LinkedIn for further details on my client list. I worked on a variety of clients from entertainment and automotive, to consumer products and sports. You name it and I have probably done it! You can see my work at: graphicgumbo.com and the various links therein.