Ben From The Owlery

This post is a little different from my usual ones as I wanted to introduce you to one of my favorite nature based artists. I met Ben through some of the shows that my parents exhibit their work at and this sparked a great relationship. I am always excited to find out what he is doing next!

Ben is a product based printmaker and artist who works with Lino and Screen print media. He creates textiles, ceramics and paper products and prints using motifs and surface designs with just a touch of whimsy. More recently, Ben has been working on a series of fine art prints. Personally, Ben is my favourite nature based artist and his work is absolutely incredible!

Ben’s Work

Ben makes a group of amazing products which include cushions, coasters and placemats, prints and more. Most of his products belong in a group that has its own theme. For example, Ben has kingfisher cushions, prints, lampshades, coasters and even plant pots! Other themes include great spotted woodpeckers, blackbirds, penguins, cetaceans and racoons.

What I think

Ben is one of my online friends and I love his work. I collect his prints and I have a kingfisher coaster and a multi-bird cushion. I would recommend his kingfisher collection and all of his prints. The prints are so very detailed and colourful and he has a number of different birds and animals on them but personally, I think his bird prints are the best work he’s ever done. He even made some of my suggested bird prints.

Gallery

Interview

I asked Ben some questions and here’s what he said:

1. The first question I asked him was what was his favourite bird. Here is his answer:

“My favourite bird is probably a hummingbird ( although I know it should be some sort of owl or at least British bird but alas, no!). The reason I like hummingbirds is firstly because of the huge array of variation in species. There are over 300 types of hummingbird which is pretty amazing and every time I go to the natural history museum in London, I love to look at the hummingbird display which must have been beautifully colourful back when it was made. Secondly I love the iridescent colours and how a hummingbird’s feathers change colours in different light. I have never printed a hummingbird because I would struggle with the metallic colours in the feathers.”

2. The second question I asked him was what is your favorite piece of work you have done. Here is what he said including an exclusive for the Bovey Birder announcing his new releases!:

“My favourite designs are actually new design which I haven’t released yet. This year I am releasing 4 new design: blue jay, bullfinch, wren and waxwing. I think my favourite of the new designs has to be the waxwing and wren. I think these designs are more complex than my previous work and I happen to love both Wren’s and Waxwings. Wrens have a really distinctive tail shape and waxwings have a wonderful flash of yellow and orangey-red. To me, waxwings always look like they have wonderfully smooth feathers which makes then stand apart from most birds.”

3. The third question I asked him was what first got you into birds. Here is what he said:

“I started to illustrate and print birds because I became really fascinated with the variety of species, the array of amazing colours and the different shapes and sizes. Not only that but we see these wonderful creates every day and we can really take for granted how beautiful they are. One of my favourite British birds is the house sparrow and many of us take this amazing bird for granted. We see house sparrows around so often and we rarely stop to look at them but they are beautifully coloured in grey, black and shades of brown.”

4. The fourth question I asked him was at what point do you decide that one of your drawings is finished and does not need tweaks. Here is what he said:

“This is a tough decision! I create stylised prints with slightly exaggerated colours which means they are not totally true to life. I try and keep my prints as simple as possible and sometimes I work on a print for so long that I over work it and have to start from scratch. I usually ‘go with my gut’; it’s not easy to describe when a print is finished, I usually look at it and ‘feel’ that it is finished. Sometimes I go back to old work years later and realise that it was never finished and work on it again.”

5. The fifth question I asked him was what was your very first piece of work you made. Here is what he said:

“The very first print I made was a large 30cm square lino cut which is now my logo. The design was an Owl face and I made a very limited series of prints as well as a textile design. My work moved on very quickly and I haven’t produced the surface design for a long time but I still very much liked the design so adopted it as my logo.”

6. The sixth question I asked him was can he explain his printing process. Here’s what he said.

“I use a process called screen printing to print my work. I start by hand illustrating the image I want to print using a dip pen and acetate, separating each colour onto a different piece of acetate. I then transfer the image to a silk screen using a light sensitive emulsion, a silk screen and a 1000 watt bulb. Lastly I print my work by laying each colour down onto the paper one by one, pulling ink across the screen using a wood and rubber tool called a squeegee. I have a demonstration video on my website which can be found at www.theowlery.co.uk“

7. The seventh question I asked him was what his favourite nature based artist was. Here is what he said:

“Asking this question to a makers is really tricky because there are so many! I really love Folded Forest, they make beautiful screen prints and I have a few small wooden wall plaques with a range of woodland animals on. My good friend James Green is a really great printmaker who makes fantastic lino cut prints of donkeys. You never see many donkeys in prints and his prints are so fun, telling a story with each image. The last artist that I would recommend is Mister Berwyn. Me and Amy are really good friends and her paintings are so beautiful, I have a rabbit cushion in my bedroom and every rabbit has a different comical face, she paints with such character.”

8. The eighth question I asked him was if you could choose any bird, which would you draw. Here’s what he said:

“I am hoping to start some bigger tropical birds soon including a toucan, a quetzal and one of my all time favourite birds…a Hornbill. I have mainly printed domestic birds because they tend to be more popular and relevant to people in the UK but I love tropical birds and they are more challenging to print because of their size. Also some tropical birds when they display are very strange looking and therefore very challenging to draw and make them look realistic.”

9. The last question I asked him was what was his favourite bird joke! Here is what he said:

“I love this question! What do you call a Parrot that flew away? A Polygon!” 

I really enjoyed asking the questions and Ben’s answers were great! I wanted to ask these questions as I like to focus on the tiny details as they are always what make a person.

I just want to say thank you to Ben for answering the questions. It was very kind to give up his time for this. I can’t wait to buy his new prints and put them up on my bird art wall where Ben’s work features heavily!

If you want to read more about Ben’s work here is a link- Owlery

If you want to look at more of Ben’s products, here is his etsy shop