As some of you may have noticed, I’ve updated my portfolio site. Rest assured, you can still vist the original Space Explorer here. Please let me know your thoughts and I look forward to adding more work to the site!

For the second time in as many years, I was commissioned by the Mid-America Arts Alliance to create a board game for a traveling exhibition. Last year’s board focused on the American Bison; this time around, Thomas Cole, an English-born 19th century American artist, is our subject.

Play mechanics are simple: a path takes players on a walk through the woods which guides Cole back to his studio so he can begin another masterpiece. En route, players encounter trivia and obstacles. Positive spaces, such as capturing the sunset in a journal, boost players ahead; while those with negative items, like deforestation or railroad construction, knock players back a few spaces. My favorite elements are the alternative paths. These send players back the furthest distance and are reserved for events like rockslides, thunderstorms, or losing paint down the waterfall. Look closely and you can spot a paint bladder splashing down the falls. Together, they add a nice set of details to the illustration and help spice up gameplay.

The board was designed to fit within the overall stye of the exhibition, perhaps skewing a bit brighter and friendlier, to emphasize the gaming elements. I’m curious to see the whole exhibit, but it doesn’t visit its first stop (I’m not sure of the locations) until September. You can read more about it here and if you happen to come across it (the exhibit tours for five years), please drop me a note and let me know your thoughts.

Thanks to everyone at MAA for the chance to work on another fun project. And a big thanks to Erin for doing the final execution of the boards!

It’s Festival time! Erin and I are finishing up last minute preparations for this year’s Santa Monica Festival. We have new prints, drawings, paintings, books and other goods we can’t wait to share. Please stop by if you are able!

The festival is this Saturday May 8 (11 am – 6 pm) in Clover Park, here in Santa Monica, CA. The festival is free, kid-friendly, and focused on environmental sustainability. Erin and I will have our own tent in the “marketplace” area, displaying our art. For more information, check out the Santa Monica Festival website.

Purchase Seascape 2 drawing on Etsy

View all available drawings on Etsy

Purchase Seascape 1 drawing on Etsy

View all available drawings on Etsy

In December, I was contacted by the Mid-Amercia Arts Alliance to create a board game for a traveling exhibition entitled The Bison: American Icon. I love this type of project with its blend of illustration and educational elements. The game is part of a larger exhibition, much of which is fairly serious in content and tone, so I designed the game to contrast the rest of the displays, and more importantly, give the the appearance of something friendly that would invite patrons, kids and adults alike, to interact with the game.

Gameplay is simple with players answering questions, each correct answer increasing their cache of tiny bison figures. The player with the most bison wins. Landing on an arrow in any of the sections ringing the board forces the player to surrender one of their bison to the variety of developments that led to the animal’s near extinction. I connected all the sections either through elements bleeding from one section to the next or simple alignment. For example, the railroad track connects to industry’s piping. This emphasizes the relationship between all of the developments combining to nearly wipe Bison from the plains of North America. Their habitat forms the center of the board and one gets the sense that it is rapidly shrinking as the few remaining Bison scurry farther west.

I’m not sure if the exhibition will ‘Go West’ as far as LA, so I may not have the chance to see the final setup. If you happen across it let me know how it looked and whether your bison herd thrived or was decimated by the railroad, the hide market or just a general lack of bison knowledge.

New City Shippers 1 Print now available on Etsy. This is a reproduction of a 6in x 6in acrylic painting on board. Enjoy!

New Nightscape 1 print now available on Etsy.  This is a reproduction of a 6in x 6in acrylic painting on board.  Enjoy!

A simple rocket illustration for your weekend enjoyment!

I’ve set up a Studiobenben Facebook page.  Feel free to become a fan.  Hope to see you there!