Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca Benezue.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I fell in love with photography in the ’70’s as a teenager, using a Canon AE-1 film camera, but life got in the way with marriage, kids and work. Then in 2008 when my kids were grown, my husband gave me a digital SLR. I had no more excuses, so I took some photography classes, learned Photoshop and started shooting. But it wasn’t until I took a Photoshop artistry course and learned compositing that I discovered my passion for creating digital art; I was no longer merely capturing a scene with my camera, I was creating that scene! It’s been a wonderful outlet for me, and although I still love doing portrait and commercial photography I think that digital art will always remain a fascination for me.
Please tell us about your art.
While I still do some commercial and portrait photography, my main focus is on fine art compositing. I’ll usually start with an idea for the finished image and then reverse engineer it to come up with the details such as overall mood, tone, light, props, clothing, background, etc. I try to shoot on location whenever possible but sometimes I’ll have to do a studio-type shot and composite the subject onto a different background in Photoshop. I use myself as the subject in a lot of my work; not because I’m model material but because it’s simpler than trying to find someone else. I don’t usually show much of my face in these images anyway — it’s not supposed to be a portrait of me, but a depiction of a woman in a particular environment.
My work doesn’t necessarily have to convey any deep, philosophical message (although it occasionally does); but a lot of the time I’ll create something just because I think it’ll make a great image. My title usually conveys what the image means to me, but I love the fact that everyone has their own interpretation and may get something completely different from it. To me, interpretation is the real beauty of art.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
I think that some of the best places to connect with other artists are online forums such as Facebook. There are tons of Facebook pages devoted to creating art, and if you can’t find one you can always start your own.
If someone is looking to connect more in person I’d suggest taking a class or attending seminars; these are great networking opportunities.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
My work can be seen mainly on my website at www.rebeccabenezue.com and I also occasionally enter images in juried competitions. My hope is to one day have my own combination studio / gallery space where I can shoot fine art, glamour and boudoir portraits and also display my work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rebeccabenezue.com
- Email: cusomerservice@rebeccabenezue.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/RebeccaBenezueFineArt
Image Credit:
All images taken by Myself
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