#treadinganewpath

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: If you could choose only one, would you rather be thought of as a great artist or a nice person? Ben Slow: Well thats question and a half isn’t it?! Separating myself from my art is something I continue to battle with. I know that my worth as an individual is not defined by my work but it can be difficult to separate the two, especially at this stage in my career. The art can be all consuming and I love that at times, especially now as a single man, I am enjoying the fact I can be selfish and not worry about anyone but myself for a while – But longterm I’m not sure thats overly positive. I care too much what other people think about me as a person (Something else I don’t think your meant to admit I am sure) to be too much of an arsehole. Don’t get me wrong, I can certainly be a dick at times and it certainly isn’t helped by the fact that I struggle with boundaries, or more a lack of any. I think I am starting to slowly accept that about myself and realizing that is simply who I am and I would like to think it comes from a place of anxiety and self doubt rather than anything too malicious. A good few people I know who are ‘successful’ definitely have that element of arsehole about them that I just don’t think is in me and I am ok with that, Im just too sensitive for that sort of thing. I reckon I will take successful enough to be happyish (Whatever that is) but also a good and positive personal existence. It’s something I am working on for sure – Striking the right balance which I think is the key to most things in life. Like my artwork, it is very much a work in progress. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “Untitled” 20 x 27 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on paper @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery #selfportrait #artoftheday (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpxQ8QYgfRf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19owmpt23radc

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: Describe your work environment – Music, TV, Movies, things you drink/smoke, time of day etc Ben Slow: I have been nomad for the past year or so, living with friends and having a few different work set ups. When I started I was in too much of a comfortable situation in a lot of ways and I could not get going. Pieces were started but far from being finished. On top of that I was in a really dark place and so was very distracted and finding it near impossible to focus. It all changed for me a couple of months ago when I was forced out of that space and into more of a studio environment. Until then I had not realized the importance of work space, I guess I had always taken it for granted but as soon as I sat in that space and had room to work, I got straight into it. It freed me up and I went from finding it hard to focus for more than an hour to pulling 14 hour days and pretty much lived that for a month, working right to the deadline as I always seem to. In terms of studio vibes, its either horribly eclectic playlists or a serious amount of burning through podcasts. I definitely need something going on in my ears to help focus me. In the past I wasn’t getting up until 3 or 4 in the afternoon and working through to to a similar time in the AM but it’s a little healthier nowadays. I am about as far away as you can possibly be from being a morning person, but I have become slightly better. I’ll wake up around 10 and be painting by 10:30 or 11 usually. I might take the odd break here or there but in the final stages of getting this work done, I wouldn’t leave the studio for 3 or 4 days at a time, get up, paint, sleep repeat which is why I am now enjoying my freedom out here in the States. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “So We Can Move On” 46 x 58 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on canvas @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery #artoftheday #art (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BptK9p_Anv8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ez922724a4o9

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: Your work on the streets to your work in a gallery/canvas translates very well, what are the challenges/goals/etc you find working this way? Ben Slow: The 2 processes are very different for me. As much as the street work certainly has an element of chaos, it’s not anywhere near how I work in the studio. I enjoy painting on the street because of the opportunity it affords me to see new places and meet new people and it is certainly fun to push myself and put pressure on myself to perform if you will – But at the same time I struggle with a lot of what street art is becoming. If you speak to most street artists nowadays, advertising their work is a big part of why they paint outside or simply to make good money. I don’t have any issue if that is what they are happy doing and they are honest about it but personally I struggle a bit with a lot of that. There is no question painting on the streets can ‘help’ your career in a variety of ways but it doesn’t sit well with me at times so I have certainly slowed down with the amount I am doing outside and just trying to do it when it is the right project for me. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “It Starts With The Decision To Take Control” 40 x 40 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on canvas mounted to wood @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery #artoftheday (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BppCyNGAR-F/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16510wql1s6tk

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: What types of materials do you use? Ben Slow: Everything. Each piece is made up of layer after layer. The main materials used are acrylics, spray paint, oil paints, solvents and pencil. I enjoy experimenting, seeing how the different materials react with each other. There is a process but its pretty chaotic. I’m forever painting over the top of what i have already done and it can be a real pain sometimes but its just how i seem to work. I have tried working in a more methodical way but it rarely seems to work for me. So the pieces probably take longer than they should but it all adds to the texture and story of the piece for me. I like to take my time, have the space to be able to step back from a piece and see it with fresh eyes. I am always working on a number of pieces at any time and this allows me to put a painting aside for some time and then come back to it with new eyes and ideas. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “Everything Gets Blurry” 22.5 x 30 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on paper @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpTGAv9BBeC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=14cfsc0sjvzjy

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BBG: What are you trying to covey through this body of work? What is the significance of the people in your paintings? Ben: This is a very personal body of work, a view into what I have been going through over the past year or so of my life – A divorce and issues with my mental health have dominated my energy and this body of work has massively helped me start to work through a lot of that. Everyone portrayed in the paintings are close friends. I wanted to create an autobiographical body of work but that wasn’t going to work for me if it was simply paintings of myself. The people depicted know exactly what has being going on in my life and have been there throughout, be that seeing me at my lowest and helping me come out of those dark places or plying me with beer and helping me to laugh at it all and see the positives in the situation. At the same time, the issues I am trying to convey can be experienced by so many people – My friends could relate to a lot of what I was going through and each have their own personal connections to the pieces. I did not want what I was trying to convey to be overtly obvious. The friends I have painted have already seen completely different things in the work than I intended and I enjoy that. I have my own story to tell but I am not there to shove it down anybody’s throat. If people are interested than I am more than happy to talk about it from my side but at the same time I think it is just as important for the viewer to make up their own mind about what it is they see and how a particular painting makes them feel. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “We Are The Lowest Of The Low, The Scum Of The F’ing Earth” 40 x 40 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on canvas mounted to wood @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPvwKQhqoa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t1hdb7zqc16t

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BBG: Tell us a bit about your career, school, city, ideas, etc Ben: So I went to art school but I can’t say it was too much of use to me. It was of a time when everything was focused more around conceptual practice and in many ways it felt like painting was looked down upon. I left school in 2005 and arrived in London when the work of Banksy really caught my imagination. I had been to a couple of his “Santas Ghetto” exhibitions but the year I left school is when he had his “Crude Oil” exhibit – The experience of these shows started to take me down a path of looking at what was happening on the streets. It was definitely a case of right time and right place, soon after I started putting up pasters and stickers in the streets and everything started growing from there. The majority of what I have learned started around then, most importantly through the like minded people I began to meet. My work has changed greatly since I started and continues to as I seek to discover more about myself through practice and my own personal growth. In truth, I wasn’t ready for school in my early twenties but it is definitely something I keep toying with from time to time, wondering if going back to school would be good for me and my practice. Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “Treading A New Path” 22.5 x 30 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner, gold leaf and mixed media on paper @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery #artgallery (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpICJgFBll9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=v039kt3bgnt4

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“Treading A New Path” is a title symbolic of Ben’s current personal situation and gives insight into his inspiration while creating this new body of work. Over the past year Ben has finalized a divorce and confronted lingering matters in his mental health, both had great impact on him personally and professionally: “I did not want what I was trying to convey to be overtly obvious. The friends I have painted have already seen completely different things in the work than I intended and I enjoy that. I have my own story to tell but I am not there to shove it down anybody’s throat. If people are interested than I am more than happy to talk about it from my side but at the same time I think it is just as important for the viewer to make up their own mind about what it is they see and how a particular painting makes them feel.” Visit our website for the full interview and accompanying text. You can also view artwork online - Follow link in our profile. “It Starts With The Decision To Take Control” Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on canvas mounted to wood 40 x 40 inches - Spray paint, acrylic, oil paint, pencil, paint thinner and mixed media on canvas mounted to wood @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #artexhibition #contemporaryart #fineart #artcollector #artwork #artsy #denver #blackbookgallery (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpCmqTah0w5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=19jjikeshqhfk

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Join us tomorrow night for the opening reception of “Treading A New Path” featuring new work by Ben Slow - Picture above is a detail shot of a massive canvas - Stop by between 7-9pm to see it in person and have a beer with Ben - Contact us for a preview of available artwork - Visit our website for additional info @benslow #benslow #treadinganewpath #art #fineart #painting #contemporaryart #artexhibition #portrait #denver #artwork #artsy #blackbookgallery #artgallery #artcollector (at Black Book Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo2WD3qB73M/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=rfrmi6ss896g