Brush with
Fame
Carlo Beninati's paintings say, 'this is your life'
By Larry Mayer
Chicago Tribune
Whether the subject is a sports legend or a corporate executive, Carlo Beninati's paintings are worth more than a thousand words.
The Arlington Heights artist specializes in portraits, many of which feature a "this is your life" montage of smaller paintings highlighting personal milestones and important people in the subjects' life.
Beninati’s client list reads like a "who’s who" of sports legends, including Joe
DiMaggio, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, Mike Ditka, Walter Payton, and Dan Marino. Beninati’s projects are among the most valuable art collectibles available anywhere in the world.
His latest "portrait" tackles a much more inanimate, though quite famous, personality: the new Comiskey Park.
Titled "The Dream Fulfilled," the painting celebrates the new ballpark and White Sox legends Shoeless Joe Jackson, Nellie Fox, Luke Appling and Sherm
Lollar. Unveiled June 17, it hangs in the White Sox Hall of Fame at Comiskey Park. Other Beninati portraits grace the walls of the White House, Lee Iacocca's office and Frank Sinatra's home.
Beninati also has been commissioned by numerous Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and celebrities to create paintings. Non-profit organizations often use his limited-edition lithographs to raise funds.
Ditka's montage commemorated his entry into the National Football League Hall of Fame. It includes paintings of Ditka as a boy, a young man, a player and a coach; depicts his family, legendary coaching mentors George Halas and Tom Landry; and shows him being carried off the field after Superbowl XX.
"When you view a painting like that," Beninati said, "you not only see a portrait of the person but you get to know a lot about them. I like to think I put some of their personality into the painting as well."
Beninati, who also has a design studio in Chicago, is busy working on autographed limited edition serigraphs depicting legends in sports and entertainment. His serigraphs of Joe Montana, Dan Marino and Joe DiMaggio hang in the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame.
Well known for his sports-themed works, this artist sees parallels between the two disciplines.
"Believe it or not, it takes strength and endurance to turn one of these paintings out," he said. "It's exhausting. It reminds me of golf, target practice or the precision needed to hit a baseball. Stroking with a paintbrush, you have to hit an exact point tens of thousands of times, and you can't miss.
"It's totally engrossing. When I'm working on a painting, I've been accused of being a hermit. I stop all my outside activities and I don't return to the real world until I'm finished."
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