Leon Benn (b. 1981, Philadelphia, PA) is a Portland Maine-based artist whose paintings originate as line drawings, which are subsequently transformed into vibrant scenes through a multi-faceted process. This creative journey involves photo enlargement, Batik-style dyeing, acrylic washes, the inclusion of out-of-focus fuzzy backgrounds, sketch-like marks rendered with oil sticks or oil pastels, and ultimately, the application of flat or impasto-like marks using oil paint. While Benn’s work draws inspiration from the natural world, specifically the transitional realms between wilderness and urban spaces often referred to as “ecotones,” these pieces transcend the mere depictions of landscapes. You can see how he translated his style into a coloring book page in Between the Lines: An RxART Coloring Book by Contemporary Artists – Volume 9.
Benn received his BFA in Illustration at Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and his MFA in Painting at University of California Los Angeles in 2013.
He is currently represented by David B. Smith Gallery and Grant Wahlquist Gallery.