Meet Daniel Benaron

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daniel Benaron and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daniel, what matters most to you?
The importance of playing. As children we learn a lot about the world through the act of playing. Even though we are having fun, games also teach us important social and cognitive skills. We learn how to interact with others in a healthy and productive way. We learn lessons in critical thinking, problem solving, mathematics, and creativity. We reduce our stress and make new friends. As we get older there is less emphasis on including play in our lives, but I think it is more important than ever that we take time to unwind and play a game with some friends. We are always growing and developing as a person. Making sure to be happy is essential to being a healthy and functional person, and what better way to be happy than to play a fun game?

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What is unique about painting miniatures for gaming is that it is art that you are meant to continue to interact with after you make it. A miniature is meant to be held and touched through the course of playing with it. Many pieces of art are meant to simply be looked at for the aesthetic value. They are hung on a wall or set on a shelf, but a mini is meant to be played with.

There is no right or wrong way to paint a mini. Each person will create a unique piece that is a reflection of their personal choices. When you bring out your minis to play, you are adding your own personal art to the game you are playing rather than simply using the generic pieces that the game provided you with. You put your stamp on the game and make it partly your own instead of consuming the media as it was made.

The process of learning to paint is a deep rabbit hole. We are constantly learning new techniques to make the minis look better. We start with fundamentals like base coating and highlighting. Then we challenge ourselves to try more advanced methods like wet blending, dry brushing, and free handing details. It can be intimidating to see what experienced painters are capable of, but by trusting the process and continuing to practice I have seen myself progress. It is amazing to compare my recent minis to some of my first minis and see the results.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For someone visiting LA I would definitely want to take them to try some of the amazing food we have here. There is a place on Beverly drive called Honor Bar that makes one of the best crispy chicken sandwiches I have ever eaten. Normally they cut the sandwich into 3 pieces, but I recommend asking them to cut in half instead. Doing this makes the sandwich maintain structural integrity better when eating it. The smaller one third cut will sometimes make the sandwich fall apart if you set it down to eat some of the delicious crispy thin fries with hickory bbq sauce.

The Natural History Museum would be a great place to visit. It is a great museum with exhibits like dinosaur bones, mammals, birds, gems, and minerals. It would be especially great if my friend is visiting when the museum is doing one of the seasonal pavilions. They will set up a special area to feature things like butterflies or spiders and you can actually enter the habitat to see them up close. If you are lucky a butterfly will come and land on you.

It would also be good to take my friend to see some of the natural beauty of California. You don’t have to go far to find beauty in nature and there is a lot to see from the beaches, desert, and mountains. We can swim in the ocean, ski on a mountain, and camp in the desert all a short trip from the city.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I spent a lot of time growing up hanging out at game stores. A friendly local place where I always felt welcome to spend time and see cool things. There was a shop in Santa Monica called Aero Hobbies where I discovered a whole new part of myself. I wandered in one day and saw veteran gamers assembling and painting mini figures to play table top games like dungeons and dragons. I had never even heard of the mini painting hobby but I was immediately mystified by the process. I knew that I wanted to try it. I was a little intimidated, but Keith the shop owner was very welcoming and was able to help be through the journey. I thought we was the coolest and best artist in the world. I wished that one day I would have his talent and be able to inspire others to pursue the hobby. I have now been painting my own minis for the better part of 20 years and I am very proud of the progress I have made. It is very satisfying to see the improvement in my artistic ability.

Aero Hobbies unfortunately closed down when the covid pandemic affected many retail stores. As the world opened back up I felt like it was my turn to open up a friendly local game store. One day I was sitting in my shop painting and a young girl came in with her parents. She walked up to my table to see what I was doing and said to me “oh you are also an artist?” The question sparked a realization in me. I am an artist. I never thought of myself that way before that moment, but here I am sitting and making art. I may not be the best artist on the planet, but I count as an artist. This little girl is discovering the joy of art just like I did many years ago only this time I am the one that is sharing it. It was the best feeling and I can only imagine this is the same joy that Keith felt when introducing it to me.

Website: bluegnomegames.com 

Image Credits
Photos taken by Benjamin Grenard benjamingrenard.com