Benita Olivas

“My paintings are a free flowing expression of colors. The imagery arises from my own experiences, dreams, fears, intuitive feelings and my own personal muse. The creative process is influenced by deeply looking at my environment and observing. This seems to trigger imaginative journeys of multiple images. I like capturing a moment in time, like a photographer without a camera. My work can, at times, be surreal and tries to invoke the sense of dreaming beyond reality.” Painting is a form of escape to a place once forgotten by time. It is a place to look within, to be bold and playful. There is no judgment or fear just playful creativity. I once lost my path of self-exploration and lost my passion. Then one day, the paintbrush called my name, and my heart was allowed to daydream again. Creativity became my home. I paint to express, to explore, to challenge, to feed my soul and reaffirm that I am alive. My journey in painting has given me an insight to life, to explore and to understand my story. I hope to engage the viewer in projecting their own thoughts, feelings & imagination to invoke in creating their own story. My painting sessions always begin and end with music. The music helps take me on a journey to another time tapping into the memories of music playing during childhood. They go hand in hand. I paint on canvas but I like building my own canvas and prefer using wood. I like to use acrylics but prefer oils. I play with color creating a canvas with an explosion of paints that are vibrant and powerful."

Benita J. Olivas was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. At a very young age, she showed a curiosity in art. This curiosity continued and became a passion. She began to seek out other artists questioning and trying to learn more about the creative process. She later decided to attend Metropolitan State College where she received her BA in Fine Arts in 1987. She has continued to take additional classes in graphic arts, painting and photography from Community College of Denver and the University of Colorado at Denver. In the fall of 2010, she won the poster contest for the “CHILE Harvest Festival” which was sponsored by the Lakewood Heritage Center. Benita is a member of CHAC (Chicano Humanities & Arts Council) and her paintings are shown at the CHAC gallery. In 2009, she was selected to paint a 44’ x 24’ mural for JFK High School. She has painted numerous murals and paintings for private homeowners. She has also been in a featured interview in the 2005 LA VOZ newspaper. Benita's contact information is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .