Operation: Job Security parts 3, 4, and 5

Right now I'm in a hotel room in Indiana, but I'm really excited about this project I did for my boss and I want to share it here before I got supper busy sharing everything that I'm learning in the Internship.

My Boss at Nordstrom got pretty darn excited when she found out I could paint, long before she even ever looked at my work. I guess I encourage that kind of trust in people. Well when she started asking me if I would do some work for her I started "joking" about how this would certainly need to secure my position at Nordstrom, and should act as a "get out of jail free" card. I was maybe half kidding. You may be asking yourself "What's up with starting with 3?" Part one was doctering a photo of her with her favorite member of her favorite band, because after waiting in line for hours, her eyes were closed in the photo. (Major bummer!) Part 2, was a painting inspired by said band. Because you know you're a supper fan, when you start creating memorabilia for your passion. But I think you'll really enjoy these three the best: She saw a pair of painted Toms shoes online and asked me if I could do one. Well, one turned into three, but she was so excited about this that it made me excited to do it. I honestly think that if she had been ho-hum about the whole senerio, then I wouldn't have wanted to do it at all. Because she was excited, I got excited too. It took me several all nighters in the studio because my lease was up at the end of June, but I got really into getting this done.




I was very very excited about these. So was she! I was kinda hoping she would cry (in a good way) but I did make her speechless for a moment or so, and that's saying a lot. I'm not gonna lie, I felt awesome! I'd probably even rock those pink ribbon toms, 'cause I think they turned out fan-freaking-tastic.

I'm working out how to offer custom hand painted Toms to continue bringing in money while I'm in KC. Give me a holler if you're interested in getting a pair for yourself.

Well it's after midnight I think (I'm not sure where this time zone change happens) and I have another long day of driving ahead of me.

pb

This little Light of Mine

To help me raise funds for my internship I had an idea to sell some paintings. I was faced with a big goal and not quite sure how I was going to get enough money for accomplish it. The internship itself cost just under $5000, and that's not considering life expenses, like car payments, insurance, money for whatever else comes up, etc. This covers housing, food, classes, and ministry trips during the internship, so considering all of that, the price is actually really good, but when was the last time that any of us ever paid for the next six months of our lives up front? Yeah, that's what I thought.

I also understand that there are lots of really good causes that need financial support too, so to help me reach my goal I decided that I should have an art show. One friend, Kyle Foster, even donated some photos of his to me to display and sell at the show. He's a fantastic photographer (and I'm not just saying that in case he reads this.) so it was an honor to have his work there as well. It took me a lot of work, but it was very exciting to get it all together and see those who were able to come out and help me. I had my photos reprinted and mounted, some of the graphic posters I've made up on the computer, several paintings, and many many many postcards.

One project that I did especially for the gallery night was one I called "This little Light of Mine". For the past several years candles and light have been a theme in my art. I like the way that fire and light symbolize and express the Lord. Passion. Clarity. Life. Oh man, I could probably go on for a while. Since I was in need of more product to sell during my gallery, I got the idea to paint on smaller 6"x8" canvas an individually unique candle. Each one is singed and numbered 1 - 50 in the order that I started them.

This is probably the most elaborate project I've tackled and second in size only to the one I recently did for my Mom. It was really exciting, to be painting them all, and I would probably change my tactic a little bit if i was to do it again, but I was supper pleased with how it turned out. It was so exciting to see them all together once I had finished. It took up an entire side of the room I was displaying in. And it was so extremely validating to see those to came out, not only to support me going out to try and purse what I feel the Lord is leading

me to do, but also to come see and buy my work to that end. It was a lot of work, I didn't sleep very much for the days and weeks leading up to the gallery night, but it was so worth it. I received a little over $1300 to go towards my goal, and was very proud of the work I had to show. There's lots of pieces still left over that need to find good homes, and I'm still looking for people who are willing to support and partner with me on this adventure, so

pop over to my site www.patrickbenbow.com and see if there are any pieces you'd like to purchase. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoy going on this adventure with me.

pb