About
Spencer Bennett
American, born 1980
Spencer Bennett is a painter based in Richmond, Virginia. He works by hand, in mixed media, on walls, panels, and signs.
Every commission begins with something particular to the people behind it: a name, a story, an old sign, a box of photographs nobody has opened in years. Often it is only an idea. He develops it with them into a finished design, then paints it. The result is an original work of art, made for them alone, not just another paint job.
He is self-taught. He came to painting through graffiti in the 1990s, in a world where everyone’s style had to be their own and getting it wrong had real consequences. Graffiti taught him how to abstract a letter and how far he could stretch it before it could no longer be read. Others still copy the style he built on that foundation. He applies the same abstraction to landscapes, portraits, and other subjects. His panels are where he tests and refines those techniques, and what he learns on them goes into his murals, his signs, and the rest of his work.
Representation is handled by Untitled Mixed Media. The studio is taking commissions for murals and hand-painted signs.
How I work
I do not start from a template. I start by listening, and by gathering as much as I can about who the work is for: the story they want told, the history behind it, the photographs and records they have kept. What I start with shapes what the finished work becomes, so no two works come out alike.
Most people know what they want to say before they know what it should look like. I work with them until the idea is clear, then turn it into a design with the techniques I refine on my own panels.
The surface matters as much as the idea. I look at what the wall, sign, or panel is made of, what condition it is in, and the conditions it will face, and choose the materials to suit it. That can mean exterior paint on masonry, pavement coating on concrete, and a clear coat chosen for its exposure.
Nothing is improvised on site. Before any paint is bought, every client approves a photorealistic mockup of the finished work in its real setting. I build it from photographs, digital painting, and 3D rendering, depending on the job, so they see exactly what the work will look like before the first coat goes on.
I carry general liability insurance and can name the client as an additional insured.
Selected commissions
- 2025Short Pump Park MuralHenrico County Recreation and Parks
- 2022Carytown Monarch MuralNorthbank Partners
- 2021The Trolley BarnJDC Management Co.
Landmarks, not lookalikes.