Ben Dawson is enjoying every moment of his increasingly successful adventures as an artist. Ben tells us about the exciting responses to his work, the encouraging note from his mother that got him started and how, if you look very carefully over the sea at Pevensey, you might spot Ben kitesurfing!

I am delighted by the response I have had, it has really given me the belief and drive to keep pushing myself. Art is such a personal thing and it is so rewarding to receive positive feedback. 

I come from a very arty family and have painted all my life, my uncle is a professional artist, my sister is a metal sculptor and my mum is a hobby potter. 

I remember the moment I fell back in love with art….A few years ago my mum left a sketchbook and nice Rotring pens hanging in a carrier bag from my front door handle. Inside the cover of the sketch book was a plea.. “Please sketch, love Mum” three months later I left my full time job in pursuit of a career in art!

I love the play between tight and loose or realism and abstraction. For example in this piece of Koi Carp I have painted fairly realistic fish and then used various techniques to create depth and energy in the abstracted water. 

This pier picture has an illustrative tight quality, softened by the energy of the drips and abstract sky. I literally bounce out of bed looking forward to painting every day! I have come a long way technically in the past six months and the excitement of not knowing where this progression will take me in the next six months is a huge motivator. I am loving the journey and people liking and buying my work is hugely gratifying.

I try have a reasonably clear mental image before I start any piece, however I love the happy accidents that occur during the course of a painting. I have discovered new techniques through trying to just paint in the moment. Sometimes a piece takes me on a journey and I am often surprised by the end result

Ben In the Air

I have a huge draw to the sea! I am lucky enough to live and paint right on the beach in Pevensey Bay and get on the water paddle boarding or kitesurfing as often as I can. I find the sea can be calming one day and inspiring the next. Many of my paintings are views of the coast from my paddle board.

As with many artists, I love the texture, tone and shape of these majestic, fast growing and short living trees. There is a gorgeous wood near my favourite pub in Chiddingly where there are stunning groups of Silver Birches. This is one of my favourite walks and always ends up in the pub!

In this painting I have used masking fluid to maintain the white bark whilst using acrylic inks on wet canvas and sea salt to create an atmospheric background. I then remove the masking fluid and use a rigger brush to indicate bark and branches. Finally I splatter various pigments of ink in layers to give the indication of foliage.