Meet Derek Benson, the creative genius behind Lunch Bag Art:

I take my Sharpies with me to work. During lunch, I draw on my kids' lunch bags for the next day. My friend Chuck and I were at lunch here, and he wanted to do one for his son.

Batman supervises morning drawing. My daughter loves the Sharpie paint pens; she's working on a unicorn.

This is a water balloon. It was devastating.

Marvin the Martian, in all his power and majesty.

Hi!

I’m Derek Benson, and I have a blog called Lunch Bag Art.  I started it because I draw on my kid’s lunch bags, and felt like it might be a good idea to start taking pictures. 

Let’s talk about the paint pens… they’re perfect in all ways!   If you want to make a striking image,

•  Make a silhouette in black (like Marvin here) 

• Then, take the paint markers to it…

• White works great as an outline. 

• Then you can smear the color over the black.  Just use a fingertip; the color holds up and the colors are excellently opaque. 

• Take a smaller pen to add a little detail and you’re good.

I can do one of these in under twenty minutes -  

Which is good if you’re on a lunch break!

Brophy

Dolls

Dragon

Faye

Gadget

Narwhal

Robo

Sephiroth

Zorak

Most recently though, Derek Benson has been recognized by the San Diego UpTown news for his incredible work!  Check out the article below:

"Derek Benson draws a new image on his three children’s lunch bags every day"

Mission Hills resident Derek Benson has been chosen as one of 20 members of the 2010 Sharpie Squad.

The squad’s artists and bloggers are a group of passionate Sharpie marker users who serve as vocal brand ambassadors, sharing their enthusiasm, creativity and unbridled passion for Sharpie products.

 A Namco Games employee by day, Benson creates art for video games. But away from gaming he is known for his lunch bag art, consisting of intricate drawings of cartoons and super heroes, which he showcases on his blog, lunchbagart.tumblr.com.

 Benson has been using Sharpie markers all his life, he said. The father of three children ages 9, 5 and 3, Benson began drawing art on their lunch bags every day as they went to school, eventually adding 370 entries to lunchbagart.com.

“I do this mostly as a hobby for my kids,” Benson said. “They really have the final say in what goes up on the blog, I definitely take constructive criticism from them.

“Only draw what you are passionate about” -Derek Benson

"Lunchbagart.com contains more than 370 pictures of Benson’s artwork, which earned him a spot on the Sharpie Squad."

 “I like to draw things that are weird and what I feel is cool. Right now, if you check out my blog, you’ll see I’m drawing things from this cool comic line called Dreamland Chronicles.”

Benson is formally trained as an artist but insists that daily practice is a better teacher.

“Only draw what you are passionate about,” he said he advises prospective young artists. His art is displayed on the walls of his son’s preschool and has been published on the front page of the San Diego Union-Tribune and on the cover of “Parents” magazine.

 “It’s an honor to have been chosen to be on the Sharpie Squad, but actually I was very proactive about it and I actually contacted them myself to see if I could become part of the squad,” he said.

As a Sharpie Squad member, Benson will be tweeting, blogging and sharing his out-of-the-box creations and ideas on what is possible with a Sharpie marker throughout 2010.

In return, Sharpie will provide Benson new product news and shipments, virtual meetings with the Sharpie brand team, and publicity through blog posts, Twitter and Facebook.

To meet the rest of the Sharpie Squad and to check out their latest endeavors, go to sharpieuncapped.com.

***

Congrats Derek!

You can find this article at San Diego Uptown News’ website. Be sure to check out more of Derek’s lunch bag art at LunchBagArt.com.

Benson: My day job, I make art for video games.   

Q: How did you come up with the idea?

Benson: I was setting the kids’ lunches up, I wrote their names on the bags…then things just got fancier and weirder.

Q: Which bag has been your kid’s favorite? What’s yours? 

Benson: So far the kids like “Robot Dinosaurs that Shoot Beams When They Roar.”   I like that one okay, too.

Q: Why are Sharpie products a good fit for this? 

Benson:  I would love to give you a good reason, but it simply never occurred to me to use anything else.  Sharpie markers have been a basic art supply for me since I was a kid.  “Awesomeness” is the reason.

Q:What specific Sharpie tools do you use?

Benson: Markers, pens, etc.  I use the black markers, and also the oil-based paint pens.

Q: So you make these bags during your lunch break? When do you eat lunch? Multi-tasker eh?   

Benson: I make them during my lunch break, I make them at home while helping the kids with homework.  When I make them at home, I tend to get a lot of help.  My kids can’t resist art supplies.

 Q: What do your kids do with the bags once they have eaten lunch? (Save them I hope )

Benson:  Sometimes they bring them back, sometimes they toss them out. Our preschool teacher saves them, too.

Q: What was your reaction after learning that you would be apart of the “Sharpie Squad?”  

Benson:  I wanted a uniform, frankly.  With a cool hat that looks like a giant Sharpie marker.

Q: Is there anything you haven’t drawn on a bag that you are just itching to draw? 

Benson: Ha!  There are things I’d get in trouble for drawing and sending to school.  I try to keep it kid-friendly, unless a grownup relative has a request.  Sometimes people want images of classical art, which usually means naked people.  There are movie monsters I’d like to do, but they’re just too scary.  But other than that I don’t have a lot of filters, and grown-up stuff is never as fun to draw as kid stuff. 

See More Lunchbags http://lunchbagart.tumblr.com/

Contact  Lunchbagart@gmail.com

Q: Tell me a little about your business.