The Art of Bennecelli

The Art of Bennecelli
James (Jim) Bennett

Major Awards
“Virginia Artists 1969” – Certificate of Distinction
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Undergraduate Fellowship Grant, 1970-71
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Graduate Fellowship Grant, 1971-72
Southwest Ohio Art Education Educator of the Year, 2003

The Artist's Story
Jim Bennett has worked as an artist and teacher for over five decades. After his retirement in 2015 from full-time teaching, he focused on writing and producing art.

In 2020, during the pandemic, Bennett concentrated on doing drawings which included exercises using a minimal number of lines to produce dynamic compositions. In 2021 he began to create paintings using the insights he had gained while doing these drawings.

Education

Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA, 1963-66. Studied with Ray Prohaska, noted illustrator.
Corcoran School of Art, Washington, DC, 1967. Studied with Washington Color School painters: Thomas Downing, Gene Davis, and James Twitty.

BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1970

MFA, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1972

Exhibitions

Numerous Juried Shows in Washington, DC, Virginia and North Carolina, 1967 – 1974

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia

“American Painting 1970” – Selected by Peter Selz

Solo Show, 1970

“Virginia Artists 1971”

Undergraduate Fellowship, 1969-70

Graduate Fellowship, 1970-71

University Of North Carolina at Greensboro

Graduate Assistantships, 1970-1972

Exhibited widely in Poughkeepsie
                Barrett Arts Center, 2017, 2018, 2019
                Arts Mid-Hudson, 2017, 2018
                Mid-Hudson Heritage Center, 2017
                Art Centro, 2017, 2018, 2019
                Gallery 330, 2018
                Crafted Kup Coffee House, 2018
                Poughkeepsie Underwear Factory, 2016

Teaching

1975 – 2015 Bennett taught at several private schools in Virginia, Ohio, and New York. During this time he was able to explore a variety of different art media and techniques including calligraphy, illustration, murals, and portraiture. He received recognition for his work in applying art to teaching math (see MathSquad.Com) but did not exhibit much during that time.

Publications

Bennett authored Calligraphy For Dummies, 2007, as well as other books on art and four novels including The Poughkeepsie Mystery, 2016, poughkeepsiemystery.com. To see all of Jim Bennett's many publications, please visit riverflow.com