Where ART Lives Magazine Volume 2 Number 3 | Page 36

Ally Benbrook
How often do you paint? How many hours a week?
I paint or draw every day, unless I’m travelling or having a crisis at work. With the responsibilities
of running our family manufacturing business, it can be a challenge, but I do schedule time to
paint. Usually I get in 15-25 hours a week for art.
How would you like to be remembered?
I want to live forever.
How do you know when a painting is finished?
I photograph it and look at it on my computer. Amazing the things that jump out at then that I
didn’t see before. When I’m happy with it, I sign it.
What is the most inspirational place you have visited to date?
Yosemite. By far my most favorite place in the world.
Where would you take your dream vacation?
Italy.
What brings you the most joy in your life?
My dogs, Axel and Rose. They are Staffordshire Bull Terriers, the happiest dogs on earth!
Tell us something that few people know about you.
Most people don’t know that I’m a cancer survivor. In 1983 I underwent chemo, surgery, and
radiation for stage 3 tongue cancer. Certainly changed me for the better (since I’m still alive!) as
it taught me some really important lessons about life. I doubt if I ever would have taken the time
to become an artist without that early lesson in mortality.
Any other thoughts to share?
When jurying a show, this is what I say to the artists: “I have a huge appreciation for art of all
types, and am intensely aware of the emotional impact of art, whether the piece approaches
realism or abstraction. Be yourself, and let me see YOU in your art.”

http://allybenbrook.com
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