Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography & Art bio picture

Welcome!

To the Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography and Art blog. My name is Jill Beninato
and I live in Virginia Beach, VA with my husband, daughter and four crazy
dogs. Here you will find the most recent info about Sit. Stay. Smile. Photography
as well as samples of my other art projects. Come on in and take a look
around...it's bound to brighten your day!

Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 2:22pm

Virginia Beach SPCA – After Hours

Watch this fun video of my friends down at the VBSPCA promoting the shelter….

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kerri - What a great video and a wonderful way to promote adoption! Looks like everyone had a good time.

ArtAwards 2010

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 12:08pm

Hey everyone….just recovering from my weekend at the art show. Overall, everything went well. Attendance could have been better, but that is par for the course with a rain date, rescheduled show.  I had decent sales and met a lot of cool, dog  loving people. The BEST part though was that I won an award! Best in Show for my category of Mixed Media. That was a nice suprise and made me feel good about what I am doing. A little validation goes a long way for my confidence level! Here are a few shots of my booth…How do you think it turned out?

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Chris Rusnak - Congratulations on your award Jill. I totally see you winning that category. Your work is brilliant, unique and original! Kindest regards, Chris

Sadie W - Congrats on the award! Your art is so fun! Keep up beautiful work!

Gina Beninato - jill Your booth looked great....so cool It was the best at the show. Love your work Gina

Maija Lepore - You and your booth look great!! Congrats on the award!!!

melissa - oh congratulations jill! your booth looked fantastic! i love all of the photos!

Debbie - The booth and your art looked great at the show last weekend. Congratulations on the well-deserved award! Keep creating!

Tracy Kunzler - Jill - loved meeting you at the show and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your work. Really enjoying the little piece I bought - Dogs Rule; Cats Drool. Hung it over my dog's bed, and he loves it too. Seeing your booth really cheered and inspired me for my craftwork. Congratulations on your award!

admin - Thanks Tracy...nice to meet you as well! I love your blog BTW....hysterical.

admin - Thanks Debbie...nice to see you to!

ArtAwards 2010 this weekend!

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 11:22am

If you live in the Hampton Roads area, please stop by the ArtAwards 2010 Art Show this weekend at the Va. Beach Convention Center. I will be exhibiting my paintings and collage work there on Saturday and Sunday from 10-5pm. The show will feature over 100 artists from over 20 other states who have all won awards for their artwork in the past which should make for a high quality show.

Visit theArtAwards 2010 website to print out a discount coupon on admission to the show. I hope to see some of you there…who knows, your pet may be featured in one of my new paintings or collage…I “should” be in booth #204 if they don’t change my location.

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New Artwork

Monday, February 1, 2010 at 10:19am

Hey there everyone….I have been MIA lately trying to get ready for an upcoming art show. The show (Artawards 2010) was supposed to be this past weekend, but a freak snow storm here in Va. Beach caused the show to be postponed until Feb. 20th & 21st which was fine by me. People here in Va. Beach do not know how to drive in the snow and it would have been a disaster since we received 7 inches. We have not had that much snow here in 20 years!  I apologize for being such a slacker lately with my blog…I have been so focused on my other projects that I have let this fall by the wayside…I will try and do a better job in the months ahead!

 

 

 

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melissa - hi jill! oh my gosh! these are all gorgeous! i love them!

Linda O'Neill - I LOVE these, Jill! I think my favorite one is "Dog is Good". I really like your frames too...do you hand make those? Good luck with the show!

admin - Thanks Melissa And Linda! The frames are actually old windows that I bust all of the glass out of...I like the salvaged wood look and it is a great way to recycle old windows!

Archie Parcheesi - I love "Dog is Good"! You are a very talented artist!

Ashleigh - Absolutely LOVE the first one! So awesome!

Jamie - Jill you are so gosh darn talented it's insane! Really really fantastic work. :-)

Published! Art Journaling Magazine – January 2010 issue

Saturday, January 2, 2010 at 10:48am

Happy New Year everyone! I am really looking forward to 2010 with a sense of excitement…Things have to be better than in 2009! I am starting off the year with a brand new article in Somerset Studio’s Art Journaling magazine. I was honored to be selected to write an article for the magazine mainly because my art journals are so important to me. They are a place where I can just let it all hang out and not have to worry about how the page turns out or if I created something “art worthy”. The magazine, for those of you who may not be familiar with it, is a showcase of different artists journals with lots of instructional information and just pure eye candy. If you like scrapbooking or journaling, you need to check it out. They sell it at Border’s, Barnes & Noble and here.

I am posting photos of my spreads, as well as, images of older journal pages for people to see…I would like to encourage everyone to try journaling…it is a great way to express yourself and really cheap therapy. With the start of a new year, its a great time to give it a try!

 

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Shawn - LOVE it! You are so incredibly talented Jill! Hope all is well with you and yours :) Happy New Year!!!

Rebecca Collins - Congrats Jill! Those mags are so yummy & rich. In a publishing world where magazines get smaller and disappear every day it is wonderful to pick up a Somerset Studio magazine and drink in the color and relish in the detail that the web just can not display accurately. Keep up the good work! Now I am off to Borders to get a copy:)

Tamandra - Congrats! You're so inspirational! Happy New Year, and may it bring many wonderful things!

manon doyle - Ooooh! So happy for you Jill! That's awesome!!

Kelly Snelling - congratulations! your journal pages are beautiful, jill!

Maija Lepore - Congrats on the formal recognition of your amazing and never ending talent!!

Stacey - Congratulations! What a beautiful feature to start the new year off with!

Pammy - SO wonderful, Jill. Big big congrats and kudos to you. You are such a talented artist and photographer!

Linda O'Neill - Congrats, Jill! What a nice way to start off the year! I always love your journal pages...they are so colorful and and full of life. I'll have to pick up a copy of the mag so I can read your article.

Amber - This is so cool! Beautiful work.

Blue Mutt - WOW Jill - Congratulations! I love you journals and I am headed to B&N to pick up the mag!!

Gina Beninato - Good for you Wish I had your talent so proud of you Gina

Laura Tucker - Jill, I really enjoyed your site. Your photography is great but the artistic touch really drives it home. What a great choice for subject matter. I also feel a bit of connection with you. I lost my mom as well and when I read your page, it brought some tears to my eyes. I am a photographer/graphic artist as well. Long live the creative spirit! Cheers, Laura

admin - Thanks Laura...my art journal is really important to me as an artist and as a person...It is a safe place for me to write about some of the things that I have a hard time talking about to other people and it is a great creative outlet as well...Sorry that you lost your Mom...I think it is difficult for others to understand that loss who have not been through it...especially if you lose your Mom at a young age....My heart is right there with yours....Thanks for commenting.

leesia - congratulations -- the feature looks amazing and you certainly deserve it!

Tamandra - I saw this article, and was so inspired. I just can't ever get myself to take the time to do creative journaling. I haven't even been painting. I love what youdo with your images. Really, really cool!

Holiday Pet Photos

Monday, December 21, 2009 at 10:24am

Here are a few photos to get you into the Christmas spirit from my holiday pet portrait sessions I had a couple of weeks ago…Everybody had a great time getting their pictures taken and the dogs really loved the tree with the real dog bone ornaments…I think every dog that came through that day stole one off the tree…It was a great idea in my mind, but not so brilliant in reality! I also want to say thank you to Two Brother’s Dog Wash & the Virginia Beach SPCA for hosting these two events for me this year…you guys are awesome!

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manon doyle - Hey Jill, Love everyone of these shots but I'm sure you already know which one is my favorite! I hope that you and your family have a wonderful holiday season!! manon xo

melissa - Merry Merry Christmas Jill and family! Have a wonderful day! Love Melissa and Emmitt