Rebecca Bennett, Fine Artist

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN

KONKLIFE WRITER AND EDITOR 

Rebecca Bennett is a fine artist working primarily in oil paint to capture the beauty of the landscapes she observes, while simultaneously taking advantage of the abilities of the medium. She also works at the Conch House Heritage Inn, a small Bed and Breakfast, that has been in the same family for many generations. Her studio is called the Artist House, which she shares with two writers. It even features a private space in which she is able to paint, and it is situated right in Old Town Key West. Bennett describes it as, “A place where everyone respects and encourages one another. I could not do what I do without it.” 

Bennett had a hard time pursuing her passions as a young woman, considering it wasn’t always encouraged in her upbringing to take on a job/pursue a career in the art field, so she originally went to school for science. After coming to terms with the fact that her passions lie elsewhere, Bennett decided to lead a more fulfilling life. She commented on this part of her life with, “Because I didn’t get a lot of affirmation from those around me in terms of art making, I felt like I pushed myself into a situation where I either did it and survived or I just didn’t do it and died.” Bennett was too depressed to carry on without doing what her real desire was, so she began to pursue art, and was fully willing to give up everything in order to try. 

To get to where she is now, Bennett had to figure out ways to manage money, living situations, and, most importantly, connections, in order to be a successful artist with an accessible studio right here in Key West. She began by not being too known within the art field in Key West, to showing one or two pieces in invitational shows, to eventually having her own shows! Bennett stresses the difficulties that many people face when trying to make a living as an artist without having an additional job that provides them with income. She is an A+ example of someone who has been able to pursue their passion, and worked hard for the ability to do what they love. 

Bennett shows and sells her work at the Gingerbread Square Gallery, on upper Duval Street. She really is living the dream, with her studio, home, gallery, and job all within walking, or a five minute bike ride from one another! Bennett speaks highly of her situation down here in Key West, and says, “What better place to be an artist!” She is currently working on a series of small paintings, on 8”x17” panels that she hand built, and is attempting to work in a different way than her norm. She is working with opaque paints, attempting to take advantage of the luminosity of the real color and value of the material, rather than using any medium to alter its viscosity and other properties. Check out her work at Gingerbread Square Gallery, or take a look at her website, Rebeccabennettpaintings.com

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