Ben [Compton] Art

Poppy Search

admin — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:28:20 +0000

Looking for poppies in Tuscany

The expression on my face reflects how elated we were to happen upon a field of poppies after a day of touring Tuscany and seeing only a single bloom or two along the way. It didn’t take long to immerse myself into the beauty, reluctantly leaving with beautiful photos to reference for my paintings and muddy shoes.

Pink Poppy 16 x 20 Oil

Still Life Workshop

admin — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 18:15:05 +0000

Being able to spend the week at Skyuka Fine Art Gallery under the watchful eye and talented hand of Richard Christian Nelson resulted in a renewed love of creating and painting still life subjects. It will be a treat to paint with Rich in the future.

Rich Nelson giving a Still Life demonstration.

Seaside Stories

admin — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 22:27:33 +0000

While in Sausalito, California recently, I was captivated by the many different poses of the people seated on the benches by the bay. Each pose, along with the individual(s) themselves, unquestionably represented a unique story. I made a small study of several of these Seaside Stories (each on a 3″ x 3″ canvas) with the intention of painting on larger canvases later. The most interesting aspect of this project is the ability to change the positions of each painting to give an entirely different relationship to the painting next to it.

Old Man and Young Boy

Additional Seaside Story paintings are shown below.

Ladies

Family

Seaside Seats One

Taos, New Mexico Workshop

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 01:12:10 +0000

June 2010 – What a treat to be able to study for a week under the gifted eye of Kevin Macpherson.

A teacher teaching

One on one instruction

Grandson’s Monet Study

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 11:37:44 +0000

April 2009 - Caleb, my 5 year old grandson and an aspiring artist, has completed this study of Monet’s water lilies. You can see his easel in the lower left of my studio.

Caleb's easel

Lessons in Landscape Painting

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:11:39 +0000

June - August, 2009 - After waiting far too long since taking the last class, I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to scratch the surface of landscape painting by taking classes under Michael Story from my home town of Lexington. One of his paintings has hung over the fireplace in my architectural office for years and now I am getting the chance to learn from one of the best. One of the marsh studies done in class is at left.

Kingsport Tennessee Painting

admin — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:03:13 +0000

August, 2008 — Suzanne and I drove through the mountains of Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee to get to Kingsport, Tennessee where I would be setting out on a three day stint of plein aire painting with Karan Hagan.