Page not found – Benz and Chang https://www.benzandchang.com We Make Believe Fri, 05 Aug 2022 20:22:30 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.3 4 Exciting Adventures Coming in 2019 for Benz and Chang https://www.benzandchang.com/2019/03/10/2019-benz-and-chang-art-news/ https://www.benzandchang.com/2019/03/10/2019-benz-and-chang-art-news/#comments Sun, 10 Mar 2019 15:16:06 +0000 https://www.benzandchang.com/?p=1131

I was about to say “Welcome to 2019!” but then I realized it’s March already. 2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year. 1. THE LARGEST BENZ AND CHANG PAINTING EVERI have a number of new paintings which will be showing soon (see below and above). One of the things I’m working on this year is getting more comfortable working large. I’ve been working on the biggest, most detailed paintings I’ve ever done. I Read more…]]>

A Song for a Whale, 1924

I was about to say “Welcome to 2019!” but then I realized it’s March already. 2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year.

1. THE LARGEST BENZ AND CHANG PAINTING EVER
I have a number of new paintings which will be showing soon (see below and above). One of the things I’m working on this year is getting more comfortable working large. I’ve been working on the biggest, most detailed paintings I’ve ever done. I just completed a 24 x 18 inch painting (which is large for me) and plan to make more before the year is out.

2. RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING LA GALLERY
Benz & Chang has been invited to show at Arcadia Contemporary in Los Angeles. Arcadia features the kind of work that I do (realistic figurative painting), and they have an outstanding stable of artists, including Stephen Mackey, Aron Wiesendfeld, and Shaun Downey. When I first emailed them, I didn’t even think that I would hear back, much less get an invite. This is a huge milestone for Benz & Chang. I’m over the moon to be showing in such a great gallery in one of the major art centers of the world. Details on this show, below.

3. MY FIRST PAINTING IN MY OWN HOMEMADE INK
I started creating my own walnut ink late last year, and am now using it exclusively. I’ve been curious about working with sumi ink (which is a traditional black ink made of pine soot) and am experimenting with different brands to find something I like. It needs to be non-waterproof, and almost all of them are the opposite. Look for more on this soon.

4. THREE GROUNDBREAKING SHOWS COMING SOON
I’m excited to be having my first Solo Show at Guardino Gallery this year. Guardino Gallery, Portland OR – May 30 through June 23, 2019. Opening Reception Last Thursday, May 30, 2019, 6-9 PM

As mentioned above, I’ll be showing for the first time at Arcadia Contemporary in their “Five and Under” group show. Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA – Opening Reception Saturday, August 17th, 2019, 6 – 9 PM

Two years ago, painter Jill McVarish and I teamed up to do a show entitled “Night at the Haunted Big Top” at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria, Oregon. It was a blast! I had to push myself as a painter to be up to par with an artist of her calibre. This year, we’re going to team up again, and I’m challenging myself even more. Benz & Chang with Jill McVarish “Night at the Natural History Museum”RiverSea Gallery, Astoria OR – October 12 through November 3, 2019. Opening Reception Saturday, October 12, 5 – 8 pm

As the year goes on, I’ll be announcing other shows and hope to have more news to share soon. Hopefully about a grant that I applied for recently.

On a side note, I’ve been avoiding Facebook lately. If you want to see more Benz & Chang updates, connect with me on Instagram.

Thank you for coming along and being part of Benz & Chang in 2019.

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Top Nine of 2019 https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/12/31/top-nine-of-2019/ https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/12/31/top-nine-of-2019/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2018 16:39:53 +0000 https://www.benzandchang.com/?p=954

The top nine Benz and Chang posts as ranked by “likes” on Instagram. This is a fun thing to see, and it makes me happy. There are usually surprises. Here are quick notes about each. All were completed in 2018 to unless noted, and can be viewed in full in the 2018 website gallery, here. Top Left – “Nothing New Under the Sun, 1911” Was the post for my 2018 Portland Open Studios announcement. The Read more…]]>

The top nine Benz and Chang posts as ranked by “likes” on Instagram. This is a fun thing to see, and it makes me happy. There are usually surprises.

Here are quick notes about each. All were completed in 2018 to unless noted, and can be viewed in full in the 2018 website gallery, here.

Top Left – “Nothing New Under the Sun, 1911” Was the post for my 2018 Portland Open Studios announcement. The painting itself is from 2016, and is currently, apparently, the Benz and Chang painting to beat. Sold.

Top Center – “Shadow Life, 1908” – One of my favorites from 2018. Still available at Guardino Gallery.

Top Right – “The World Will Always Welcome Lovers, 1918” – My entry for the Guardino Gallery Day of the Dead Show. This painting makes me happy. Sold.

Middle Left – “Lucian Freud as Photographed by John Deakin for Francis Bacon, 1964” Painting from 2015, that I posted in 2018 to announce something or other. I love this one, too, and so wasn’t surprised to see it in the Top Nine. Sold.

Center – “Tiger Behind The Door, 1929” A surprise, as some people seem to love this painting, and others not so much. I feel kind of the same way about it, although it has a special place in my heart for the spooky and shadow. Available at Guardino Gallery.

Middle Right – “Go Lightly, Go Darkly, 1930” Not surprised to find it here as it (and its partner painting) sold immediately in the 2018 Little Things Show.

Bottom Left – “The Conversation, 1909” Spooky painting. I really love this painting and might revisit the subject someday in a larger piece. Sold.

Bottom Center – “Heartbeats, 1932” I love this painting and was kind of sad when it sold. I need to do more like it. Sold.

Bottom Right – “Starlings, 1929” While I was working on this painting, it fought me tooth and nail, and put up such a terrible struggle that I still kind of resent it, even though I do admit to liking it. Sold.

Thanks for coming along and being a part of Benz & Chang in 2018. See you in 2019!

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I Made Black Walnut Ink! https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/12/16/i-made-black-walnut-ink/ https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/12/16/i-made-black-walnut-ink/#comments Sun, 16 Dec 2018 19:09:18 +0000 https://www.benzandchang.com/?p=932

I made my own black walnut ink! I get asked about the ink I use a lot, and it seemed inevitable that I would end up making my own ink sooner or later. The walnut ink I have been using up until now was from Monograph Bookwerks on NE Alberta, and was made by them. The most comprehensive recipe and information I’ve found about how to make walnut ink is from this post on a Read more…]]>

I made my own black walnut ink!

I get asked about the ink I use a lot, and it seemed inevitable that I would end up making my own ink sooner or later. The walnut ink I have been using up until now was from Monograph Bookwerks on NE Alberta, and was made by them.

The most comprehensive recipe and information I’ve found about how to make walnut ink is from this post on a web forum dedicated to fountain pen enthusiasts. The post was written by a user named Fiberdrunk. Homemade Black Walnut Ink . Although I think this tells you all you need to know, I would recommend reading the entire forum thread as there is more interesting info in it, here and there.

To summarize, walnuts fall out of the tree encased in a husk, which makes them a little smaller than a tennis ball. You take the husks from the collected walnuts (the shell and the nut itself are not necessary) and let them rot until they turn black. Add distilled water, boil them, and then cook them down until you get the desired darkness of ink. Then you strain out the solids and add alcohol (10%) or whole cloves to keep down the mold, and voila! You have ink.

For the super-interested, there is also an interesting forum post on the lightfastness of walnut ink, where a user devised a way to test it, here. Walnut Ink Lightfast Test This same person documented their walnut ink making process here: How to Make Black Walnut Ink.

I’m going to keep my source of black walnuts as my own secret for now. I got get mine from a public place. If you want to know, drop me a line and I’ll tell you how I found them. All you need is a black walnut tree. The walnuts start falling in September.

The bottle in the picture at the top of this page is the entirety of my first batch, which was made from four or five walnut husks. Pictured here is the makings for batch two. If you visited my studio during the 2018 Portland Open Studios tour, then you probably saw this batch in the process of rotting away in a stew pot.

That’s it! Anybody out there made your own? Or have stories about walnuts to share?

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Benz and Chang 2018 https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/03/12/benz-and-chang-2018/ https://www.benzandchang.com/2018/03/12/benz-and-chang-2018/#respond Tue, 13 Mar 2018 02:39:47 +0000 https://www.benzandchang.com/?p=748

Today I received a package of 100 D ring picture hangers that I ordered, and it made me think about progress, because it meant that I had gone through the 100 D ring hangers that I had ordered in 2015. I do my own framing, so between September 2015 and now, I’ve put hanging hardware on the back of at least fifty paintings. I started the what I call “the Benz and Chang paintings” in Read more…]]>

Today I received a package of 100 D ring picture hangers that I ordered, and it made me think about progress, because it meant that I had gone through the 100 D ring hangers that I had ordered in 2015. I do my own framing, so between September 2015 and now, I’ve put hanging hardware on the back of at least fifty paintings.

I started the what I call “the Benz and Chang paintings” in late 2013. In actuality, it was some fast and splotchy walnut ink drawings that I completed in two hours at a SHARE arts event, but that was where it started. I used some walnut ink and fell in love with it.

I’m extremely grateful for the opportunities I had in 2017.

  • Main gallery show at Guardino Gallery with Tamae Frame
  • Main gallery show at RiverSea Gallery with the amazing and wonderful Jill McVarish
  • Self-published my own catalog
  • Appeared with Jill McVarish in a show catalog (Night at the Haunted Big Top) produced by RiverSea Gallery
  • Joined the following group shows:
    • Mayhem and Magic at RiverSea Gallery
    • Day of the Dead at Guardino
    • Chris Haberman’s Big 500 Show
    • Catch the Moon at RiverSea Gallery.
  • Benz and Chang paid for a gallery and museum trip to NYC
  • Participated in #Inktober on Instagram and sold a third of my drawings

From the groups shows, the “Catch the Moon” show at RiverSea was particularly sweet to me because Jeannine Grafton, the Gallery Director at RiverSea, said that the show was about how she started her gallery with the goal of catching the moon. She wanted to celebrate their 20th anniversary with a show about how she felt that she had caught it, and more.

As things are coming together for 2018 (and 2019), I’m looking forward and I can’t believe it’s been four and a half years since I started this journey. Part of me feels a little superstitious about counting the years, and I’m knocking on wood as I write this. I hope to have many more years working on Benz and Chang paintings.

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Blackfish Gallery Fishbowl Project https://www.benzandchang.com/2016/11/18/blackfish-gallery-fishbowl-project/ https://www.benzandchang.com/2016/11/18/blackfish-gallery-fishbowl-project/#respond Sat, 19 Nov 2016 04:36:28 +0000 https://www.benzandchang.com/?p=283 Read more…]]>

Benz and Chang will be showing three new paintings in one of the “Fishbowl Project” windows at Blackfish Gallery. This is a window outside the gallery that Blackfish uses to host the work of guest artists.

Since they are in a window on the street, the paintings will be up and viewable 24 hours a day, seven days a week from October 31 to November 27, 2016.

Blackfish Gallery hours are 11 – 5, Tuesday through Saturday. They are located at 420 NW 9th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

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