We spoke with Michael Benton, who will be displaying their work at West Studios in November, to find out more about his upcoming exhibition, his background and inspirations. The exhibition will be on display from Monday 13th - Friday 24th November.
Tell us more about your background?
My passion for art came when I was at school I always loved painting and being creative and was pushed into doing O level by my teacher which I’m truly grateful for…I never really carried on painting after school but then covid came along and I took it back up again building my own gallery in my back garden .
I’m currently working for the OOH doctors at Ashgate Manor in Chesterfield for Derbyshire Health United in between painting, which really helps with my work as I’ve done many commissions for my colleagues and Friends who have given so much positive feedback and encouraged me to look into a exhibition for my work.
What is the name of the exhibition?
The Wonders of Nature
What materials have you used to create the work in the exhibition?
I mainly work on Canvas or MDF board .Using Oil paint and Acrylic as mediums, I’m currently trying incorporate using bees wax as well in some of the paintings
What have you taken inspiration from to create this exhibition?
I love the surrounds in which we live in from the amazing scenery of Derbyshire to the coasts of our shorelines i.e. Whitby and Cornwall some of the places which I visit on a regular basis ever on holidays or just walking out with my dog armed always with a camera to take this views …a sunrise or sunset is always a pleasure to view and can be quite breath taking at times as can crashing waves the power of them can often inspire me to paint.
What can people expect when they come to your exhibition?
I feel my work can take you to another place and forget about the day to day life we live in for a moment or two and appreciate more the things on our doorstep that are taken for granted and look closer when you do go out and see the beauty of the world.
Hopefully it will inspire people to take up art and make them more creative and get them out there to see these views and places and enjoy the world in which we live in.
Many people have a creative passion but don’t ever think they will take it further. What helped you to decide that you were going to build on your passion?
What helped me decide was lock down. Sat in the house with literally nothing to do day after day, so I decided to make the most of it and started painting in my Kitchen. Then the paintings got bigger and bigger so decided to make my on Gallery in my back garden, which was inspirational. A place to sit where you get no disturbance and you can get lost with your own creations.
Made my own Facebook site and got some good feedback on my art so decide to build on in with a exhibition.
What made you chose West Studios when deciding where you should exhibit your work?
I was told by colleague who knows an artist who also had a exhibition at West Studios and they said how good and professional they were, so I decided to get in touch and went down to take a look around and to be honest I was astounded at West Studios I thought it was amazing the rooms and Studios that are there are second to none.