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Meet Amber Bengson of Coffee & Whips in Tempe

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Bengson.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Since I was very young, I enjoyed creating crafts with my mom and sisters. She’d have us paint window catchers, Christmas ornaments, and wooden jewelry boxes every year. As I grew up, I still cherished my love for creating art, but went on to study biochemistry and healthcare. For a while, my academic side took precedence over my creative side. When the pandemic hit, I decided to get back into painting, researching techniques and learning by watching those more skilled than I was. I began posting time lapses of my paintings on social media, and found some interested buyers. After a few months of commissioning pieces for friends and acquaintances, the owner of Caffe Boa reached out to me to see if I’d like to share my art with a greater audience by painting at the restaurant on Friday nights which has helped to grow my business.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been challenges along the way with valuing my own artwork. Being a self-taught painter means that there is always something new to learn and new avenues to broaden your portfolio. Luckily, we all have access to so much information these days so the knowledge is widely available and that’s what I have been using to refine my talents. Without the proper training, it’s easy to undervalue your work and then you have a high volume of people that it’s not easy to keep up with, especially since these paintings take hours to weeks to complete. So, it has definitely been a learning curve since starting, but I’m happy I get to share the things I create with people and get to explore new ideas with.

Please tell us about Coffee & Whips.
I specialize in acrylic paintings on cotton canvases. The subject matter varies, but I tend to favor bright colors and contemporary styling because there is more room for creative liberties. I’m proud that I get to share my passion with the world and honored that my creations are hung up in people’s home and at Caffe Boa on Mill. I think that Caffe Boa has given me the opportunity to connect with my audience in a unique way by giving me the chance to paint there. It also allows people to see how much time, work, and attention-to-detail goes into creating these pieces, I think what sets me apart from others is that human connection aspect. I enjoy letting people watch the process and hopefully that inspires some of them to pursue their passions as well.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I was blessed with a wonderful childhood and close family to grow up in, so there are so many good memories! I think one of my favorites would be learning how to cook spaghetti with my mom when I was 7. I was so happy to be able to do that for my family and get to do something that the grown-ups normally do. After that day, I painted a picture of my mom and I cooking together that was showcased in one of the local art shows and recreated the painting for her when we moved to our new house. It really showed me how much artwork can mean to someone when you’re able to remind them of a happy memory with a beautiful picture.

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Image Credit:
Devon Mitchell

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