Being laid off during COVID pandemic turned into a new business for B.C. artist

After buying some tiny brushes, he’s now turning out some incredible work. But it took a lot of practice shifting to a three-dimensional canvas.

Being laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Dave Benning.

He spent 155 consecutive days painting in his studio, fine-tuning his skills.

“I think I got pretty good, pretty confident in my work. So having the practice was definitely the key,” the 52-year-old artist told This is BC.

For more than a decade Benning has been creating pop culture portraits and would get the occasional commission from a customer. But it was his daughter who introduced him to a new idea that has seen his art sales really take off. She asked her dad to paint her a pair of shoes.

“I didn’t really think much of it, I was like sure, ‘yeah yeah no problem,’” said Benning. “When I started researching it I was like, ‘oh ok, this is a lot of work’.”

After buying some tiny brushes, he’s now turning out some incredible work. But it took a lot of practice shifting to a three-dimensional canvas.

“You kind of have to be creative. If you’ve got shoes with laces in you kind of got to work around, how are you going to fit your design on, where the stitching is,” Benning said, describing the challenges. “There are so many more things to think about.”

His shoes start at $525 a pair.