32 Artists & Illustrators
TALKING TECHNIQUES
‘Painting Butter’. “We both use [it] for impasto strokes,”
Benjamin says. “Although I probably use it more sparingly,
and sometimes not at all when working more thinly on
a detailed piece. So, while Andrew avoids detail to great
effect, I sometimes embrace it when it’s an important
part of a bustling street scene.”
It is clear as they talk that there is a mutual respect
and appreciation for one another’s work. Andrew cites
their differences in approach as one of the many reasons
that he admires his fellow painter: “Through that disparity,
I really appreciated Ben’s vision, craft and skill sets,
especially the ones which I do not possess and am
fascinated by. It is those that I want to see.”
In return, Benjamin appreciates the embrace of the
abstract in Andrew’s painting. “He is brilliant at interpreting
subjects in a way I love and try to explore myself. It’s all
about pushing things towards the abstract with bold and
assured marks. Part of the reason I am drawn to this is
that I cut my teeth with highly realistic and detailed still life
painting, which is almost the antithesis of Andrew’s work.
I have been slowly pulling myself away from this and it
is the work of artists like Andrew that helps give me a
much-needed push, even though I will probably always
retain something of a realist’s sensibility.”
While Benjamin comes from a long line of artists –
his mother is the Oxford-based painter Jane Hope – his
educational background is, perhaps unusually, anchored
in the sciences. Following a degree in maths and physics
from the University of Warwick, he gained a PhD in
Theoretical Nanoscience from the University of Cambridge.
“There is a lot of problem solving in painting and I
suspect my mathematics and physics training helps with
this, as it probably does when it comes to thinking more
abstractly or philosophically about painting,” he says.
“Painting fast outside also involves thinking critically at
speed, which is distinctly reminiscent of taking
mathematics exams. More directly, linear perspective and
geometry come into my painting quite a bit too, and these
are basically maths, albeit fairly elementary.”
One of the main differences between the two artists
is how they approach and prepare for a painting. Benjamin,
it seems, is a planner. “I admire him for his patient
build-up and dedication to the image,” says Andrew.
“He will make multiple visits to a site to get his image
as perfect as he can, whereas I will jump in and barely
do a preparatory sketch.”I am constantly
on the lookout for
potential paintings,
which can make just
relaxing and enjoying
life rather tricky
BENJAMIN HOPE