
Karen Becker Beneditti discusses her work during her demonstration at Fairborn Art Association Tuesday, March 3, 2015.

Karen applies mat medium to the background before applying paint covered plastic sheeting (paint side down) to the background.

An example of Karen’s process – paint transferred from the plastic sheeting to the black background.

Karen displays another example of a work in process. She often works on several projects simultaneously.

Karen discusses her processes to the members using this finished work as an example to illustrate how she achieves her results.
Fairborn Art Association met on Tuesday, March 3, to see a mixed media demonstration by Karen Becker Beneditti. Ms. Beneditti is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has an Art Education degree from the University of Wisconsin. She also has studied at Milwaukee’s Layton School of Art, and has taught elementary art. She also has taught workshops and seminars in Ohio, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She paints with watermedia and mixed media, primarily fluid acrylic, using handmade papers, either imported or made and embellished by the artist. She applies paint in layers on the surface of watercolor paper, canvas, or board. She calls her technique Layered Fluid Acrylic Painting.
Karen applies mat medium to a black gesso background, then attaches plastic sheeting covered with paint to the background. As the mat medium dries, the paint adheres to the mat medium as the plastic sheeting is removed. The paint applied in this manner renders various abstract shapes. She will use thicker or thinner paint to get different values. Different colors are added in layers to build a work on the background. Paint can be applied directly to the plastic, then applied to the background. She frequently uses complementary contrasting colors to achieve a finished product. The results are high contrast, eye-catching works.