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For those familiar with the works of CS Lewis, you might recognize the narrative in this painting. It does indeed come from “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” and features the three protagonists of Lucy, Aslan, and Susan, after Aslan’s resurrection.

This was a personal project of mine. I’m a huge fan of CS Lewis, and I wanted to create a piece of art that would come close to doing his magnificent tale justice. In my mind’s eye, I had an idea of what I wanted it to look like. I asked my two nieces to model, and then I went to work.

My intention in all of this was to really focus on their expressions and their movement. While I initially thought I was going to utilize all sorts of crazy lighting effects, I decided against that at the last minute. Instead, it’s awakening light, the sun is still buried behind the hills, ready to explode its light, but for now, the characters emerge from the shadows to overlook the future.

I STRUGGLED with this. The colors were drying differently than I had mixed, I was getting muddied results, and the faces were not working out. I painted and fussed, and went over with colored pencil, and then paint again, and then I threw my brushes in frustration and walked out of the studio.

A few days later, I returned. I sat in front of the painting with a cooler head. I corrected Aslan’s mane by glazing just a hint of purple into it. I completely gesso-ed over Susan’s face (there was no saving it), redrew it in pencil, and then repainted the entire thing. Somehow I managed to salvage this painting. It now beams in beautiful pastel colors and I am pleased with the result.

Available as a signed limited edition print.

The colors are just radiant, and at 16” x 20”, the painting has a powerful impact. I want this art to go on your wall. A simple offset print or color copy would not do this justice. I will only be selling it as a life sized high quality print. If you are a fan of CS Lewis, or you know someone who is, this is an amazing gift.

“Narnia Awakens” signed high-end, limited edition print, by illustrator Benjamin Hummel. 16” x 20”.

It’s Christmas in July and our 2025 Christmas card collection has been finalized and printed. We are no longer taking pre-orders, but we are offering 25% off of all our Christmas Card designs, including our new releases up until September 1. Be sure to type in: iwantchristmasinjuly at the checkout.

Our designs for 2025:

Madonna and Child. This is a fairly traditional icon of the holidays. While I did add my own take to it, I did rely heavily on the traditional depictions for inspiration. Inside it says: “This Christmas, may you be nurtured by the warmth of the season, and transformed by the abundance of God’s love.”

A7 (5” x 7” folded). Comes with envelopes. Sold in packs of 10 or 25.

The Word Became Flesh. The second comes from a design I sketched out several years ago. This is called “The Word Became Flesh” and it is inspired by the first chapter of the Gospel of John. Inside it says: “We behold the mystery, joy and significance of Christ’s birth, and hold you in our loving hearts this Christmas.”

A7 (5” x 7” folded). Comes with envelopes. Sold in packs of 10 or 25.

Christmas 2025 Collection Combo pack. Five (5) of “Madonna and Child,” and five (5) of “The Word Became Flesh” for a total of ten cards. A7 (5” x 7” folded). Comes with envelopes.

I call this exhibition “Story Time,” because it features the artwork made for several different children’s books through the years. It’s one thing to see the illustration printed on paper, it’s quite another to behold the original. 

The opening is a Saturday morning. We did that on purpose, as we want this to be kid friendly and we tried to pick a time that would be easier for families. Granted, many of you already have full schedules shuttling your little tikes from sporting events to dance lessons, but if you have five minutes and are in the area, we’d love to see you.

I’ve designed two new Christmas card illustrations for this year’s Christmas (yes, I know, VERY early in the season, but the art is completed, and thus I felt like sharing.) The first is your traditional Madonna and Child. This is my version and take on it. Though it gives a nod to traditional iconography, it’s not following the exact regiment, rather, I painted it as I felt, in the moment.

The second comes from a design I sketched out several years ago. This is called “And the Word Became Flesh” and it is inspired by the first chapter of the Gospel of John.

Pre-order today and help us with the print run. These are pre-order prices. Once we send the job to the printer, the cards will return to our regular 10pk greeting card pricing. This is your chance to order early, save big, and get your Christmas shopping taken care of EARLY!

Please note, since these cards are still in the works, the final design may alter slightly. We will post all updates as we complete them.

Now, I didn’t take the photograph. Cherish did. It was a fantastic photo. And while my work has been shifting into a more stylized look, it’s always good to go back to the basics of strong realism as an exercise, and that’s what I did with this piece. I cannot tell you how all this came together, only that it did and surprised even me.

By popular demand, some have asked if this is available. The answer, of course, is yes! It is available as a print, as a card, and the original is also still available. You can find them on the website, or the buttons should be below.

I’m also thinking about publishing this as a poster with a Henry David Thoreau quote on it. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

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The original is available right now through ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/316026398962

To start it off, we do have one very special set of well kept, officially licensed Jim Henson puppets. These date back to the early 90s and are great as collectibles or simply as beloved toys.

Be sure to check out our entire collection at www.paintingforlife.com/puppets. Enter pickup_golden at the checkout to have the shipping waived of hand deliveries anywhere in the Denver Metro area.

Also,

Introducing my latest creation titled: “Driving Through Rural America While Raining Before The Windshield Wipers Are Turned On.” You may call it “Raindrops 01” if the title is a little too lengthy.

Where did this painting idea come from? Well, it came as a class demo. Having created several landscapes in acrylic, we decided to explore something a little different, a little more unique. What if we created a landscape… but put it behind a glass that was filled with raindrops? Now it was no longer just a landscape. Now it was a landscape with a story waiting to be told.

It also demanded that the landscape eschew away from your standard sunlit, shadow dominated traditional landscape, and to push ourselves into a muted palette with low contrast.

Now granted, we did not paint this from life. I suppose that would be challenging to sit in shotgun with my canvas resting on the dash as I try not to get paint all over the rental.

Back when we were younger, and my health a little more stable, Cherish and I used to take several trips. Cherish is diligent in taking a ton of great photos. This particular trip was no exception, and she captured that moment of cresting the hill as we look off into the distance of a misty environment in rural America.

Where is this place? It can be anywhere (well, anywhere East of the Mississippi. Colorado and the West look nothing like this). This happens to be in rural Massachusetts. But it could just as well be in Amish Pennsylvania.

My process was simple. Paint the landscape. Then paint the raindrops.

I wanted to include a lot of detail in the landscape, but I had to remember that whether it was the camera or the eye, if the raindrops are in focus, the background behind them would not be. I did what I could to make the landscape recognizable, but to keep the edges soft and the details minimal.

Then I painted raindrops. I might give a whole video tutorial on how I did the raindrops, but here is something to keep in mind. The raindrop refracts the light in such a way that it is an upside reflection of what is in front of it. Thus, if the sky is light and the ground is dark, then in the raindrop the bottom will be light and the top will be dark. Vary the size and position of all the raindrops for visual interest, and really, it isn’t too complicated.

This painting feels like there’s a story about to emerge. What do you think it is? What thoughts or feelings come to your mind as you look at it? Feel free to let me know.

You are cordially invited to the “Words of Character” Art Show and Gathering. “Words of Character,” is an art show of 12 surrealistic paintings, depicting greater themes of life and journey by award winning illustrator Benjamin J Hummel. 

How it all began

It all began with a men’s group at the start of 2023. Annually, we kick off the year by selecting personal theme words to be our guiding logos of inspiration throughout the year. As each one of the men shared their words, imagery began to flood my mind. Through the course of 2023, I grabbed my paints and illustrated each one of these words. This show is the culmination of a year’s long journey of expression and discovery. Come join us for a few evenings of celebration, fellowship, and art.

This acrylic on canvas painting is one that we hung over the Christmas holidays. As it comes down, and before we file it away into storage, I’m willing to offer it at half it’s regular price, for anybody who cares to hang on to a little bit of a Hawaiian holiday. This tropical themed illustration is one that I created upon inspiration to both Kauai and Oahu when we traveled there many years ago. It’s a classic oldie but goodie, done in early Benjamin Hummel Painting for Life style. For one week only, I’m offering it for half off. Otherwise, it’s going back into deep archives of PFL storage. You can help decide where the home of this classic should go.

The Stories Behind The Art

“Swing”

This gem of a piece came about as a random doodle that simply worked. On a small piece of scrap illustration board, I just started drawing with my pen, not sure where this was going to go. The result is my little high flying act of childhood, depicting a memory I have of imagining I could fly every time I launched myself from the swing set. For those brief seconds of weightlessness, I felt uninhibited… until I ultimately came crashing back down into the pea-sized gravel.

“Stately Man”

Almost every morning I sit down in my studio, I always do a warm up sketch or painting. Often times, it is nothing more complicated than drawing my own hands. However, I do have a large folder of photos we’ve taken over the years that I think would make for good compositions. That is where this guy comes from.

We were watching the Buffalo Bill parade, and many of the floats have people dressed in period wear. Perhaps this guy was trying to be Lincoln, or perhaps just a man from that time (it wasn’t a very convincing Lincoln, which is why I’m going more generic with it, but if you see Lincoln, then by all means, let it be Lincoln!). It’s a tiny sketch, but fun.

“A Lady on a Stroll”

I was giving a class on painting in acrylics and this was the demo that I produced. The image comes from a photograph we took of the Miniatures Exhibit in Manitou Springs, Colorado. I especially loved how the light played with the fabric and the form. Ultimately, the demo turned out, which is always good, and I, myself, learned much about color and light during this process.