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Why
art? From the start.........
I
have had a love of Art since the age of 5, from painting,
to drawing to making things. In 1992 I went on to
high school and as soon as I could chose Art as my
specialist subject. At school Art wasn’t easy as my
Art Teacher took an instant dislike to me and told
my parents that I would never make an artist nor be
able to sell my work professionally, because of this
I had to get most of my tips and advice from books.
When I reached the age of 16 I did my GCSE exam in
Art and my final exam piece went missing - I later
found it in the bin in the Art room. My teacher had
marked it as a D before the moderator came to look
at the work, the moderator acted on the marks given.
THANK YOU MR KEY!
I
then went to college and re took my Art Exam getting
an A* along with another A* in photography and a B
in Graphics. So after a year I had the last laugh.
Plus I scored a B-Tec in Graphic Design and Photography
and several A-levels 2 years on from that. A lot of
people ask me why I didn’t go to university to further
my Art. My personal answer and opinion is that I was
ready to fly from the nest of education after the
3 years that I did at college, and I truly believe
Art is either in the blood or it isn’t. I want to
teach myself new skills and progress with time and
age and not set myself boundaries as to what should
and shouldn’t be done, Art has no boundaries, limits
or rules, and you need drive over everything else.
From
there.............
For
a long time I have been heavily into music and cult
figures, because of that I concentrated on bold and
striking icons. In 1999 I did my first big scale painting
of Jimi Hendrix and I was so happy with it that the
effect of looking at it stunned me. I then thought
that if I can stun myself and feel the true powerful
effect of it my imagine what it would be like to stun
other people and give the same effect that I got from
it -even more,, imagine doing that as a job, and getting
paid for it….
I
then found myself doing more and more and felt that
I was getting better and I was learning new techniques
and textures that brought the paintings to life.
About
me and what I do............
I
am an experienced, creative, innovative professional
artist that sells my Art worldwide. I specialise in
portrait work with my main focus being cult/retro
figures from the past and present time those who have
shaped the future in their own field, from the iconic
blonde bombshell that took Hollywood by storm, Marilyn
Monroe, to the King of Reggae Bob Marley and everyone
in between. I also do commissions for people whether
it be your granny, mum, uncle, dad, pet or even your
car. When starting a painting, I re-create a scene,
add my own timeless, bold, eye catching style to it
and end up with an outstanding image that captures
the subject in their/ it’s best light. My paintings
always create interest and intrigue, even to people
with no interest to who or what the subject. My Artwork
was also featured and shown on MTV where I was interviewed
about it and the music that I was doing at the time.
I
am known for my paintings, to order, for Bars, Nightclubs,
Cafes, Offices not to mention Art Gallery Exhibitions
which have made press coverage
in newspapers and art
work as seen on MTV!
I create these effective, outstanding, modern, timeless
paintings in my own Professional Art Studio. They
have been proven to look great from Art Galleries
to houses, creating a talking point and centrepiece
for any room. They also make great original gifts
to friends and loved ones alike. None of my paintings
are digital prints, they are all original and hand
signed, not one of them is exactly the same but they
are all of the same high quality.
My
Aim............
My
personal aim is to carry on selling my art all over
the globe, making people happy with my work and knowing
that my personal touch is being made wherever my paintings
are placed and are having an impact all around the
world.
Ben
Riley.
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