Embedded Files
Currently on display:
Featured Artist; Carnegie Arts Center
250 N Broadway, Turlock, CA 95380
“Always, Already”
Oil on canvas,
30” x 40”
Time is a funny thing. It bends. Moments ahead sometimes reach back and change the course of our lives. We simply lack a sense for it. I stood at the alter and placed a ring on her delicate hand, because I already had. She knows me now, because she always did. A future that must be awaited, the present a prelude to what already was.
The studio has been a sacred space. No guests welcome, prying eyes even less. I never thought I could work with another. I’ve never been more wrong. Presenting a collaboration with a beautiful and brilliant artist, Émily Tietjen. We stand together because we always have. We painted this because we already did.
Cassiopeia
Oil on canvas
(Two panels)
60” x 40”
Celebrating the wedding of two incredible people. Marshall and his lovely wife are partners in everything, business and love. They met and married with eyes open. They truly Chose each other, and will always be better human beings because of it.
The tree on the left is masculine, with strong lines and draped in yellow. It is passion and a steady, quiet force. Marshall is strong, both physically and spiritually. When you know his story, you know the song of a man who started a country kid and became a citizen of the world. He chose adventure and success.
The tree on the right is feminine, strength and soft curves. Enticing and classy. It is the power of a woman’s body and the power in her ambition.
In the middle they meet - they share deep, private roots and a canopy of bright leaves for the world. The sun sets and gives way to the ascendant moon. Gold and blue seem simple from a distance and become complex as we approach. It is them.
A simple trail, two sets of footprints as they meet. A ship that sails, driven by the soft supporting wind at their backs. The coordinates are the beach where Marshall married. A bright memory captured here and encoded. High on the bluff stands the Temple of Artemis. It is a pinnacle of classical architecture. It is an homage to the power of women. The moon ascends and brings her strength in soft light.
The stars?
The stars are Cassiopeia.
Make of it what you will.
"Winter Between Us"
Oil on canvas,
30" x 40"
Every couple has their seasons. We experience our spring, where blossoms come to life and bodies collide. Our fall, when we rest and harvest the fruit of love. We experience long summer nights. The cool water of each other under sunlight and shade. Every couple has their winter, too. It can be cold, or it can be a time to warm one another.
May winter always be warm between us, and those we treasure.
"Eden Pales"
Oil on canvas,
30" x 48"
A joyful collaboration with a gifted artist, Lyra Mook. Their line work and palette were impeccable.
The fruit of enchantment, nestled in paradise. To know fruit in Eden is an awakening. We dine and tempt the envy of the gods. Wisdom comes with pain. It is rebirth, blinking in new light with new eyes. Lyra was born with eyes open.
"Flutter by Tahoe"
Acrylic on canvas,
36" x 24"
A commissioned piece from a doting husband to his wife. The couple this painting captures flowed through my brush in an electric way I've never experienced. A butterfly as she floats over Tahoe at sunset. Perhaps.
Perhaps fair Luna as she blossoms, coming to her heights. Water is life. It is the water of Her.
"Bulle dans le foret"
("Bubble in the Woods)
Acrylic on canvas, 48" x 36"
A commissioned piece from a fine California woman, celebrating the sacred space between lovers. It is the quiet well from which we draw strength and security. The original concept for the work arose from the special space I shared with a fine French flower. She was a Lady, and our space was private and sacred.
“La lune, tombée”
(“The moon, fallen”)
Oil on canvas, 20” x 20”
A study in despair. I have wept, and my heart bleeds for her. I touched a porcelain, lonely face. I looked into intelligent eyes, more desperate because. May those who despair find shade in the desert. Cool water and rest for weary feet.
The moon has fallen. May we be a light to those who struggle.
“Tulipas em Lisboa”
Acrylic on canvas. 48” x 36” (120cm x 90cm)
Sometimes you find a couple whose love over the years stayed sweet, simple and pure. It is a rare find, and I am honored to be commissioned to express it. I was contacted by a gentleman who simply loves his wife. He sweetly and quietly adores her. She is worthy of such devotion, loyal and tender with him. They are quiet people, who turn to me to give voice to their love. What a joy!
May I present the gorgeous tulips and windmills of the Netherlands, brought by the magic of the brush into the sweeping hills of Portugal. This piece is huge! It was free and easy to think on this couple and let love flow through the brush. I am privileged to capture it. Thank you for your trust.
Viva o amor!
“Footsteps: Hill and Dale”
Acrylic on canvas.
24“ x 36”
A sweeping commissioned piece for a generous patron. She asked to capture the magic of her land, before moving to a new home. It was a complex problem as an artist: the property offers breathtaking views both East and west. The sunset is a sunrise is a sunset. Do you see? We are looking both East and west. The land here speaks death and life, relentless and close.
The most powerful moments were as I walked this wonderful patron's property. I matched my steps to the ones she and her son had left in the pasture’s grass. I followed her line, and his, both times I visited. It was a sweet and private glimpse into their lives together. We come to what we expect. May our footsteps always cross good earth. May they lead to what we desire.
“We In String”
24” x 36”, 90cm x 120cm
I don’t often explain a piece. Who am I to tell you what you see? I think, though, that we enjoy a bit of detail about more abstract work.
We are going to talk physics. Please hang in there with me - I promise it’s pretty. String theory is an elegant body of work that describes a hidden magic in the everyday. Your body, in all its little bits and bops, extends into what appears to be 10 or 11 dimensions. Woah.
What the hell does that mean?
Your body, every precious part of you, extends into worlds you do not sense. String theory describes us as beautiful filaments, each their own color. Each vibrates to its own tone. Do you see? Your body makes a unique vision and music in the universe, far beyond our little view. You extend into, and alter, worlds that you cannot sense. There is a wonderful witchcraft in our everyday.
“This is it.”
Acrylic on canvas,
24” x 36”, 60cm x 90cm
We are guaranteed only the breath in our lungs. Now is real. We feel the silk ribbon of time slide between our fingers, one moment to the next. The only cloth we will ever touch is the ever-fleeting Now. We are promised nothing, and come to what we promise. Perhaps... This is the only heaven we will ever know. This is it. Enjoy!
Inspiration from a lifelong friend. For us, a window. For her, a mirror.
“Length is Strength”
Acrylic on canvas.
24“ x 48”, 60cm x 120cm
Celebrating a beautiful, vivacious couple, Nathan and Michelle Quevedo. It was a joy to complete this commission. These two wonderful people shine in my mind. Now, captured in poppies, they will shine out over their friends. I looked again with a long, steady gaze into the hearts of my lifelong friends as I worked. I found an abiding love that is among the deepest I’ve known.
Brevity is wit. And length is strength.
COMMISSIONED
"Study in Blue #3"
Capturing the impossible azure on an impossible weekend in Marin. It was nothing special, and I've not been the same since.
“Music, boxed”
Acrylic on canvas. 48” x 36” (120cm x 90cm), gallery wrapped.
I don't often explain a piece. Who am I to tell you what you see?
This painting is about our confinement during Covid. It has two sides, mirroring the two peculiar sides of this time. We are all in this together, and yet we are defined by our isolation from one another. Each box is a family, a single person, a couple, tightly together and walled off nonetheless.
Each box is also one of your personal days on the calendar. We are truly becoming the boxes we live in. Some days are blue, just as some couples experience their yellow. The red spatter is the time we are in. It is our reality and can be faced plainly. It is death come to hunt. It is that family where a child or woman is trapped with a monster. The white line at the bottom marks our calendar while we wait. The months turn and turn.
This painting was a joy, and required much precision. As I worked, I felt free. There is liberation in this place.
SOLD
“The Mighty Mighty Umpqua”
Capturing the sweetness of our lives, and the water of my childhood. Here I caught a happy perfection, still joyful on reflection. Little M was born.
Acrylic on canvas. 40” x 30” (100cm x 75cm), framed.
On reserve
“The Moon in Manhattan”
I adored working on this piece. The brush felt light and fun. I was rolled in yellow and touched by Venus.
Acrylic on canvas. 40” x 16” (100cm x 40cm), gallery wrapped.
“California burns”
Capturing the crimson haze that descended as my beloved California burned. This piece is a color illusion - the entire painting is shades of red. There is no yellow on this canvas. There is no orange or brown. There is only red. Everything else you see is what you bring to it.
A powerful piece, and tells our story. A friend asked what it was like, as our precious California burned. I figured I'd just paint it. There aren't words, after all, for that light.
Acrylic on canvas. 36” x 24” (90cm x 60cm), gallery wrapped.
"A Winemaker's Autumn"
The vineyards, finished with fruit, had one more gift. The land exploded in vivid red and yellow, while the hills kept a green winter promise. There is no gold like California's.
Acrylic on canvas. 36" x 24", 90cm x 60cm
SOLD
"Bubble in the Woods"
An unexpected place in winter. A little space of our own.
Acrylic on canvas. 36" x 24", 75cm x 60cm
SOLD
“California, baby”
Easily the farthest I've gone to answer a casual question. I think I could have said it's hot and beautiful here, but that doesn't begin to describe California. I love our home.
Acrylic on canvas. 36” x 18” (90cm x 45cm)
“Poppies in the key of C”
Freedom has many forms, and it seems a good day to remember. We've got sun and poppies and blue sky. There are many ways to walk among them and I'm glad to stroll with you. If we're quiet, we may hear music in the many faces of these blossoms.
Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm)
SOLD
"Je m’appelle adieu”
A difficult piece, and painted with passion. Dinner with a friend.
Acrylic on canvas. 30” x 48” (75cm x 120cm), gallery wrapped.
“The Mist Trail” (to Half Dome)
From the sparkling Yosemite Valley floor, through Vernal and Nevada falls, to the top of the world. This piece is hung at a 37’ angle. Perfect for wall space along a stairway.
Acrylic on canvas. 48” x 24” (120cm x 60cm), gallery wrapped.
“Homage: Barefoot in the Orchard”
Acrylic on canvas. 18” x 24” (45cm x 60cm);
SOLD
“Borrowed sugar”
From the next door neighbors. Capturing the first stroll down the street; a new home in a beautiful place.
Acrylic on canvas. 30” x 24” (75cm x 60cm), gallery wrapped.
SOLD
(Updated photo with recent color changes to the background; current gallery hanging.)
“The Hermeneutic Saloon”
A philosopher's joke. Moving the little parts of us to find that which is. An homage to phenomenology, inspired by a mentor.
Acrylic on canvas. 72” x 48” (180cm x 120cm), gallery wrapped.
“The Big Wheel”
The slow, pretty pulse of the seasons. It's the rhythm of nature, written into us.
Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 36” (60cm x 90cm), framed.
SOLD
“Candle to Memory”
We have the luxury as human beings of interpreting our past. Letting go is the essence of liberation. We may choose to carry into the future only that which strengthens us. Only the leaves that give good energy from the sun.
The rest can go to hell.
Acrylic on canvas. 36” x 36” (90cm x 90cm), gallery wrapped.
“Called for travelling”
The perspective shift in the middle of this painting makes it appear that there are two separate images. Indeed, there are. A sentimental piece about divorce. Not a bad thing, just two paths when it is time to diverge. May all roads lead us to good places.
Acrylic on canvas. 48” x 36” (120cm x 90cm), framed.
"The Way Out is Through"
How precious our time. How tragic our story.
Triptych, acrylic on canvas. All pieces framed.
Panel 1: River Euphrates, 24" x 36"
Panel 2: Sunset, 40" x 36"
Panel 3: State 0, 24" x 36"
“Elphaba”
A blessing for our girls. May they ever be magic.
May they ever be witchy.
Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm), framed.
“Banks of the Nihil”
Others do for us, our entire lives. We are taught to walk and enjoy food we do not grow. No one can die our death. We must face it alone, and pass into oblivion. Let it be always tomorrow.
Acrylic on loose canvas. 40” x 40” (100cm x 100cm)
“Luna in company”
The moon and her children.
Oil pastel on parchment. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm), framed.
“Harvest moon”
Washing the sins of Glenda.
Oil pastel on parchment. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm), framed.
“Bird upon waking”
We smelled salt air, from an ocean close. We tasted berries and fresh bread. It was a joy to paint.
Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm)
“Study in Blue #2”
Capturing azure on the California coast.
Oil pastel on parchment. 18” x 16” (45cm x 40cm)
On reserve
"Annoia"
Pastel on parchment, 24" x 18"
On reserve
“Washing the sins of Glenda”
A ritual under a harvest moon.
Acrylic on canvas. 24” x 18” (60cm x 45cm)
SOLD
“Un Lievre”
One of the most difficult pieces I've ever worked with. We rattle the bars of an unlocked prison.
This piece is meant to be touched. The texture of the paint, layered high, speaks to your fingers. In the end, it is a vision of hope for the women I love, particularly two beautiful daughters. May they slip like smoke and always be free.
Acrylic on canvas. 36” x 48” (90cm x 120cm)
Thank you for your eyes and interest!
Additional detail photos available upon request. For purchasing, rental, or commission please leave a contact with your question at benjaminjmook@gmail.com.
Visit us at Patreon and become a supporter of the arts! www.patreon.com/Ben_Mook
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse