"I have adopted a wet-on-wet technique. This technique is both a blessing and a curse, as it can create happy accidents, but it can also create accidents." Ben Randall

Life in Colour

Nov 10

Written By GoLive

Gallery favourite Ben Randall is part of our upcoming group show, *Life in Colour*.

We are are thrilled to welcome gallery favourite Ben Randall for our upcoming group show, Life in Colour.

The show brings together more than 30 incredible artists from all over the country for a joyous celebration of vibrant colour.

Register now to join us on Saturday 16 November from 1pm as we celebrate this superb show in the company of the amazing artists involved. Put your name down now for this FREE event, and pop your contact details on the mailing list at the same time to get early pre-sales access to the works in the show.

Ben is an abstract artist based in Sydney. His work was a favourite of visitors in our show earlier this year, Living in Another World, and this year he has also been named as a finalist in the Mornington Peninsular Contemporary Art Prize.

We absolutely LOVE his superb work, so we're delighted to welcome him for Life in Colour.

Ahead of the show opening, Ben told us about working instinctively with purpose, adapting inspiration, and looking at work up close and from a distance.

Where do you create your work?

"I feel very fortunate to have my own studio at my home. My studio looks out to the garden which is full of life and inspiration. It is here I spend my hours pushing and pulling paint over the canvas."

How do you create your work?

"I work in a state of rational intuitiveness. By this I mean, there is a process that is predicated on the previous application or removal of paint. There is purpose in my work, but there is also instinctiveness at play."

"I start with a lot of mark making; usually charcoal which can sometimes be seen in the final composition; and build up many layers. For these pieces, I have adopted a wet-on-wet technique. This technique is both a blessing and a curse, as it can create happy accidents, but it can also create accidents."

What inspires you?

"Everything about life."

"It could be lyrics from a song, the wildlife in my garden, a past memory tainted by time or the colours of some random persons clothes. I try and take that inspiration and adapt it in a unique visual way."

What do you hope people feel when they see your work?

"I hope viewers allow my art to offer them a fantastical inner connection with themselves. I hope they look deep into my artwork, and then have some self-reflection - a memory, a feeling, anything emotion that gets ignited. I hope they also look at my work from both up close and far away, because this is how I paint each piece."

"I really love this Hans Hofmann quote, “The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak”."

"For me, the “necessary” that may speak, is the audience or the viewer. It’s their view and their interpretations of the artwork that is the final piece to the puzzle. I just use my visual voice; which are colours, shapes, forms, brushstrokes; to offer a painting that hopefully speaks to the viewer."