Real Art Is Better
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Welcome to the Real Art Is Better blog, run by Scott Clendaniel and Maria Benner in Anchorage, Alaska. Scott, an oil painter, specializes in beer paintings among other subjects. Maria manages the business side. The blog covers Scott's art, business insights, Alaskan life, and their adventures.
Real Art Is Better
1w ago
The Great Northern Brewers Club came to McCarthy, Alaska over Labor Day weekend, and if you want to know how that brew-venture went, then read on. Most everyone arrived on Friday. Maria and I decided to head down to the footbridge around four in the afternoon to welcome our friends and greet them with a ..read more
Real Art Is Better
1M ago
Last weekend, Maria and I drove the Denali Highway, also known as Hwy 8. It connects the Richardson Highway to the Parks Highway. We started on the Richardson side at Paxson and drove across to Cantwell. We began our journey at our Anchorage, Alaska house and headed east to Glennallen. Normally, we would turn south ..read more
Real Art Is Better
1M ago
~by Maria Benner Every summer the locals in McCarthy, Alaska look forward to an event called Jökulhlaup. It can happen as early as the first week of July, or as late as the early week of August. A Jökulhlaup is a natural phenomenon that can occur suddenly and with immense force, and is a result ..read more
Real Art Is Better
2M ago
It can take years to befriend your neighbors and develop rapport when you move into a new neighborhood. I think we got really lucky when we moved into our house in Anchorage, Alaska. We had been living in an apartment condo, and the studio was a rental a mile away. Now I commute downstairs. It ..read more
Real Art Is Better
3M ago
I started oil painting when I was about 10 years old but didn’t really understand how the material worked until I was in college taking actual painting courses. When I was taking a break from university, I developed a plein air painting technique where I would mix a full palette of colors and then save ..read more
Real Art Is Better
4M ago
Recently Maria travelled to China with her Mom, and I was left to bach it for three weeks and a day! There are positives and negatives to your wife being out of town. I always tell Maria, “You can go on any trip you want, but I would like you to be home after nine ..read more
Real Art Is Better
6M ago
I just completed two new oil paintings on canvas to add to my “Alaska Buddies” series. The Buddies are four Alaskan animals: moose, bear, eagle, and Husky dog, who are friends that go out and do Alaskan things like fat biking, skiing, and racing Mt. Marathon. A lot of artists have created something similar, but ..read more
Real Art Is Better
6M ago
Last week Maria and I went out to McCarthy to enjoy a getaway at our cabin. We often refer to our little house in the woods as our Camp David. It’s a place for the Executive Branch of our household, Maria and I, to escape the daily routine. March is spring in some places, but ..read more
Real Art Is Better
6M ago
~ by Maria Benner We sold an oil painting on canvas to a couple that lives in Bellingham, WA, and the painting needed to be shipped there from Anchorage, AK. The problem was that the painting is 5ft x 4ft, and when Scott packaged it, the combined dimensions were just 4″ over the maximum size ..read more
Real Art Is Better
6M ago
Happy Doghouse Day! You might be wondering what that means. Well, it’s a new holiday I invented last year that encourages “sticking it to the man”! If you’re tired of holidays driven by Hallmark profits, then join me in celebrating Doghouse Day. Here’s the concept: imagine you’re super relaxed in your relationship, so relaxed that ..read more