Artist Statement

06/12/10

As a landscape painter I work directly and indirectly with nature, painting from drawings and referential photographs. I don’t aim to re-create the landscape as such, but I explore the movement of light, and describe experiences and emotions felt within the landscape. Colour is vital in this.
I see my work as being an extension of the Romantic period, although I am exploring what it means to be a painter in the twenty-first century. The New Forest is currently my area of study. Being a protected National Park, it’s a quiet, scenic area, a place of escape from traffic, towns and cities.
I draw directly from observation as I feel that recording information in this way is far more personal and thought provoking than taking a photograph. Yet together, drawings and photographs play a vital role in my work.

Ben King – Updated July 2010