The Arts & Culture Journal

Ben Rothery is a freelance illustrator and printmaker, whose work centre’s around the use of the line. He works mainly in Drypoint, making his own etching tools and working on a variety of media including Acetate and Canning Tin, as well as the more traditional copper.

When not working in print, he utilizes a mixture of pens – “finer the better” – such as isograph pens. Interesting, he notes:“I rarely work my images up in pencil first, as I find myself paralysed by the fact that I can rub things out and start again. When I can't make a mistake, when the lines have to be perfect, it frees me up and I can just get on with it.”

Although having been a long time lover of drawing, he came to art as a possible career choice quite late. This doesn’t, however, detract from his very unique style and, if anything, it may have freed him from the constraints that early artistic education often imposes on artists; ultimately allowing a very personal, yet free methodology to come to the fore.

Ben has a very clear understanding of what he wishes to achieve with his work: “I am Fascinated by the idea of non-verbal communication and much of my work attempts to convey a person's story through their portrait. Their eyes, the set of their mouth and the lines etched into their faces all depict their experience”.

His ability to manipulate ‘the line’ is most clearly demonstrated in the shading and texture that he consequentially creates in his pieces. As a viewer, you are sucked into the clearer points, before the beautiful texture sends your eyes scanning the detail as if, for an unexpected moment, you’re lost in the detail, whilst the whole time the frame sits easily and comfortably.

The work, though personal in style, lends itself to a conscientious audience by tackling important social content, which stems from