Meet our Mid-Valley: Dago Benavidez brings peace, serenity with oil paintings

This is part of a weekly series introducing readers to individuals who are passionate about our Mid-Valley community.

Fully open orchids are in front of a pond dense with lotus leaves and protruding lotus bulbs. The water is illuminated by a faint three-quarter moon, and the semi-clear, star-studded night sky a shade of blue lighter than the water.

This breathtaking view is in one of eight paintings in an exhibit by Dago Benavidez on display at the Salem Public Library through the end of January.

The exhibit is centered around peace and serenity, themes Benavidez said he felt people needed due to the impact of the pandemic.

"These (paintings) are the ones that I wanted to put together because they evoke peacefulness and are good for the soul and eyes," Benavidez said.

Benavidez said exhibits like these are rare, as most curators and organizations that reach out to him primarily want cultural or Latino-related art. He is a proud Mexican-American artist, with as much emphasis on American as Mexican.

"I'm a Latino and paint ... but we're more than that. We travel and see other things too," Benavidez said. "I don't want to step away from it, but to show (we can paint) more. And that's what I'm trying to do with my art."

Behind the art of Dago Benavidez

Benavidez was captivated at age 3 by the colors of the Texas prairie. His love of colors grew as he became an artist. Sketches lined the edges of his homework, and he itched to paint.

Benavidez grew up in Lockney, Texas, a small town in the panhandle, and moved to Salem in the 1960s. He started painting his now-signature oil works while attending Chemeketa Community College. He studied under Robert Bibler, who Benavidez cited as his inspiration.

After graduating from Chemeketa, he continued studying at Portland State University and painting has remained a constant in his life. They're "like my children," he said.

One of the paintings on display titled "Beauty Everywhere I Look" is inspired by an experience with his two sons.

While on a walk, they passed by a bag of trash on the sidewalk. A discarded can of soup with a flower inside was amongst the garbage. He told the boys to take the flower out, and once home, he placed it in water.

"I wanted to show my kids that there is beauty everywhere. You just have to be open to looking for it," Benavidez said. "Rivers, the ocean and other bodies of water are such a huge inspiration for me. If you really pay attention and look, you can find beauty all around you."

Benavidez wrote a children's book during the pandemic titled "Rusty and Me/Rusty y Yo." The dual English and Spanish book is about a child with a dog named Rusty, which was inspired by a childhood pet by the same name who goes through the five stages of grief.

He said explaining the stages of grief to children was necessary while working as a Court Appointed Special Advocate.

"It's a simple book ... for small children between ages 5 - 7," Benavidez said, as he flipped through the pages. "But the most important thing is the meaning of it ... and showing they're normal to feel maybe one, all or some of those ways."

The exhibit

Flowers, memories and still landscapes painted in an impressionistic and expressionistic style make up his exhibit.

"The art style of impressionism is through the images not being too detailed, but you can tell what they are," Benavidez said. "Expressionism is the part I really like, because I express myself through the oils and atmospheres."

"Memories" is the painting that most exemplifies Benavidez's expressionist style, he said, with the lilies, pond and flowers throughout it.

Landscapes based in real places include Larimer Square in Denver, Seaside and sun and moon pagodas in Guilin, China.

To see Benavidez's art, stop by the Salem Public Library and take a right toward the meeting rooms.

If you have an idea for someone we should profile for this series, email Statesman Journal senior news editor Alia Beard Rau at arau@gannett.com.

Em Chan covers food and dining at the Statesman Journal. You can reach her at echan@statesmanjournal.com, follow her on Twitter @catchuptoemily or see what she's eating on Instagram @sikfanmai.ah.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Meet our Mid-Valley: Dago Benavidez paints serene scenes