"Big Jim" Painted by: Ben Cooper
I received this note shortly after delivering this portrait-
"I was recently visiting my sister...It was the first chance I had to see the portrait you painted of our father...I was so impressed with your work that I just had to write to you. The manner in which you captured him absolutely took my breath away. I am also an artist...Your talent is truly God-given. As humans, I think we view portraits of people we know with some skepticism, always searching for that one detail that's a little off. Well, your portrait is PERFECT in every detail."
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Biography
A portrait and abstract artist, Ben Cooper is influenced by a wide range of styles and his environment. Ben uses oils for his traditional style of portraits and takes influence from Dutch Baroque artists such as Rembrandt moving upward to more modern artists such as Chuck Close. Upon request, he has done commissioned portraits in different media and styles of art. He has also created portraits in abstraction using line, color and arrangement to capture his subject’s personality.
Born in Fairfield, Ohio in 1977, Ben was influenced by his mother’s drawings. Having two years of formal training in the Design and Architecture Program at the University of Cincinnati, reinforced his inherited artistic talent. His interest lies in portraiture and the human figure, which has led into a more specific focus on his own immediate family as subject matter. With the introduction of his wife in 1999 and family in 2001 his passion for art grew. His work took a more introspective route, using self portraits and portraits of his wife and sons to catalogue and interpret the many facets of their relationships. He continued his career by showing his work at various galleries in Cincinnati; in both multi-artist and solo shows. Ben's work has also branched out into other genres such as graphic design. While he has taken a traditional approach, he has worked on many projects for Habitat Skateboards, producing designs that have been distributed globally. While many graphic designers rely heavily on computer graphics, Ben has found a way to make his hand-made graphics marketable in conjunction with computer graphics.
Ben has donated his talent to community organizations, such as IMPACT Over the Rhine and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission. He has also donated his time to a community organization focused on art education and therapy of the mentally and physically handicapped called Visionaries and Voices.
Ben is a multi-medium artist, with a wide range of materials including; oil and acrylic paint, graphite, beeswax, pastel, charcoal and india ink. During his training, he worked predominately, from live models. As of recent, he is working from photographs, to provide more convenience to his clients. With the foundation of working from live models, Ben has been successful in producing realism from photographs.
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