Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Clarke.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
My current career path as an artist and illustrator is thanks to my family, who have inspired and encouraged me my entire life. I started drawing when I was little, having seen my parents’ meticulous archeological drawings of bones, pottery, and strange artifacts. From there, the comic books they bought for me (which I still love) captivated my attention. It was challenging to be as encouraging as they were. My excitement for art often couldn’t be contained by the boundaries of the canvas or paper they gave me and would end up on the walls of our home or as paint fumes oozing up from the basement. On one occasion, I was even reprimanded for drawing too much in class! But I’m so grateful that they believed in me. As I got older, my father shared advice from his photography work. My mother became my biggest source of motivation, encouraging me to enter any competition I could and ultimately to take a chance on myself and pursue art as a career (at the time, I was thinking about becoming an engineer). I would be remiss, though, not to mention my extended family, who were also vital to my professional and personal growth. The ways they inspired me to practice my craft were sometimes overt but other times more subtle. For example, my cousin Selena is an excellent artist who creates work in her spare time. I’ve never said this out loud, but I secretly practiced hard when I was younger to surpass her skill! Seeing her work still inspires me to this day. My grandmother, an art teacher, and grandfather made a much more overt effort to enrich the childhood of my cousins, sister, and me. We weren’t simply sent to “hang out” with Grandma and Grandpa for a bit. We were sent to “grandma’s boot camp.” If we were going somewhere, you were “gonna’ learn something.”
As a result, we’ve seen more historic sites and art museums than I can recall. On these trips, I first stood in front of great works by the likes of Thomas Cole, Rubens, and Duchamp. I also learned to appreciate the masterful designs at the Sandwich Glass Museum and the Ford Model T. The love for art and design history I gained through them influences my work to this day. My Uncle Patrick is also someone who propels me to create. Growing up, he was my best friend, a multi-talented man who cared deeply about his family and had a sense of humor that could get a room of people roaring with laughter in no time. Towards the end of his life, he found peace in landscape painting. Whenever I pick up a brush, I reflect on his positive impact on me and everyone he interacted with. People often consider artists, designers, or illustrators inherently creative or proficient. However, at least in my case, I wouldn’t be who I am without the people that have supported and inspired me along my journey. It takes a village to raise an artist!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Although I see myself as very fortunate to be able to pursue my passion with support from my loved ones, it hasn’t always been a perfectly smooth journey to where I am now. Like any artist, I found it challenging to find the right information to improve my skills when I was a beginner. I had also struggled with mental health, particularly during the pandemic, when so many of us were isolated, and our lives were disrupted in unprecedented ways. It’s taken a long time to recover from that period fully, and I’ve had to make up for lost time to catch up to where I originally wanted to be as I entered my senior year of college. However, I’m confident I can manifest my aspirations moving forward!
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your work.
I’m an illustrator specializing in gouache, ink, graphite, and digital painting. My portfolio is best suited for the editorial, publishing, and advertising markets because I love the challenge of communicating complex ideas directly to my audience inefficient yet arresting ways. My style combines linear and painterly techniques and almost always features surreal or fantastical subjects. What sets me apart from others is that I am never comfortable in my process and likely never will be. This is because I’m constantly pushing the boundaries of my capabilities, whether a new technique, a challenging subject, or incorporating something new I’ve learned into a piece. For example, I’m incredibly proud of my recent ventures into animation, in which I’ve revivified gouache paintings and digital illustrations from my portfolio by making them move!
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I have to thank Tim Snyder and Amelia Willett for being two of my most important mentors in public school. Their instruction gave me both the foundation of knowledge and the drive to get serious about how I make artwork. I’d also like to thank the good people at The Delaplaine Arts Center, who showed me what working in a professional creative environment is like. More importantly, they also showed me how art can benefit everyday people in my community.
Contact Info:
- Website: benclarkeillustration.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bencreated/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-clarke-143032209?trk=people-guest_people_search-card
