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1. Museum Pass, oil and mixed media collage on birch,
     24” x 24”
2. What’s Up Is Down, mixed media collage on paper,
     11-1/2” x 9”
3. Why The Muse Speaks, mixed media collage on paper,
     11-1/2” x 9”
4. Green Tea 2, mixed media collage on paper, 15” x 11”
5. Scents and Sensibility, mixed media collage on
     museum board, 20” x 15”
6. Green Tea 1, mixed media collage on paper,
     11-1/2” x 9”
7. Monocerotis I, oil and mixed media collage on birch,
     14” x 12”
8. Exploring Ganymede, oil and mixed media on canvas,
     30” x 24”
9. Terrestial III, oil and mixed media on birch, 24” x 24”
10. Lightdance #8: Shadowed Reminiscence, 2003-04,
       oil and mixed media on birch, 12” x 12”
11. Sweet Memento, 2005, oil and mixed media on birch,
       24” x 24”
12. Reflections of a Memory, 2005, oil and mixed media
       on  birch, 24” x 24”
13. Lightdance #4, 2005, oil and mixed media on birch,
       16” x 16”
14. Lightdance #2: Vivacious, 2004-05, oil and mixed
       media on birch, 24” x 12”
15. Hot Shadow, 2004, oil and mixed media on birch,
       16” x 12”
16. Cool Zigzag, 2004, oil and mixed media on birch,
       16” x 12”
17. Dynamic #2: Sea of Memory, 2004, oil and mixed
       media on birch, 24” x 12”
18. Lightdance #5, 2005, oil and mixed media on birch,
       16” x 16”
19. Lightdance #7: Memory of Water, 2004-05, oil and
       mixed media on birch, 18” x 18”
20. Red Veil, 2003-04, oil and mixed media on birch,
       12” x 12”
21. Terrestrial, 2003-04, oil and mixed media on birch,
       21” x 24”

Contact Information
PO Box 7464
Philadelphia, PA 19101
tel: 610-446-5699
e-mail: sandrabenhaim@gmail.com
www.hellophiladelphia.com
www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk
Please contact artist for purchases, commissions, etc.

Artist Statement
I work primarily in oil and oil paint stick on wood panels and on canvas. The world around me provides me with nearly all of the inspiration and wonder I need.  In my paintings, I try to express and also celebrate my passion for nature and all its splendor of color and variety. I employ layers of color, as well as juxtaposed colors, to create a visual energy that fascinates me.

Several years ago, I enrolled in a class with master painter Moe Brooker. Taking this class allowed me to explore new directions.  This is why, after having worked in a representational manner for many years, “little pieces of landscapes” began to mix in my artwork with pure abstractions of color and texture.  Lately, I have created purely abstract images expressing in unabashed and exuberant color my passion for nature.

I also began recently to investigate collage much more fully-- both on paper and other supports. Besides paint, crayon, and oil pastel, my collages are made from a variety of items:  colored and textured papers, flyers, and cutouts from magazines and from maps. Bits and pieces of these papers and such have come from trips abroad to foreign destinations like Paris and The Bahamas.

 My work is about “place” and is landscape-inspired, but it is not a representation of a specific location. The visitor to my artwork is welcome to enter these places by imagination, memory, and reverie. My hope is that there will be many visitors. 

Education
1973
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
M. Ed.

1968
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
BFA

Continuing Education
2000 - Present
Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Weekly/Monthly Critiques with master painter Moe Brooker

1997
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Studio for Advanced Studies Program

Awards and Honors
1968
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Elkins Park, PA
Full-paid four-year scholarship from the Philadelphia Board of Education and Temple University

Professional Experience
1968 - 1986
Art Specialist Teacher, School District of Philadelphia

1976 - 1979
Art Teacher, Klein Branch JCC and Neighborhood Center, Philadelphia, PA

Affiliations
ARTsisters, member
Support group for emerging women artists

Selected Exhibitions

Solo

2005
"The Eye Doctors", Havertown, PA

Group

2007
Works on Paper, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

65th Annual Awards Painting Exhibition, Cheltenham Art Center, Cheltenham, PA

Living With Art, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

144th Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA

Art of the Flower, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA

Small Worlds, Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA
3rd Prize

2006
Small Works Show, Muse Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Absolutely Abstract, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA

32nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Hopkins House Gallery, Haddon Township, NJ

Art of the Flower, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
Merit Award

Flowers…A Group Show, Twenty Two Gallery Café,
Philadelphia, PA

Small Worlds, Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA
3rd Prize

Betsey Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Landscape Revisited, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA

2005
Philadelphia Tri State Artists Equity 56th Fall Exhibition, The American College, Bryn Mawr, PA
Juried Exhibition

The Bryn Mawr Film Institute Café, Bryn Mawr, PA
Juror: Moe Brooker

The September Abstract Show, Minerva Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

Art of the State, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
Juried Exhibition

142nd Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
Jurors: Al Gury, James Groody, and Rebecca Rutstein

Small Worlds, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA
Juror: Dan Miller, Head of PAFA Masters Painting Program
3rd Prize

2004
Solitary Endeavors, Atelier Fine Art Gallery, Frenchtown, NJ
Juried Exhibition

2003
Art of the State, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, PA
Juried Exhibition

Annual Open Juried Show, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Juried Exhibition

2002
Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Juried Exhibition

2001
Annual Open Juried Show, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Juried Exhibition

Esther Klein Art Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

2000
Members Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Juried Exhibition

1999
Annual Open Juried Show, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

1998
Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition

1997
Annual Open Juried Show, Delaware County Community College, Media, PA

Annual Exhibition of Small Oil Paintings, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, PA
Juried Exhibition