Tom Benjamin

Teaching at West Dean for over 20 years, Tom is a plein air oil painter who works outside in all weathers and sometimes on a large scale. He exhibits widely. His work can be seen at Alan Kluckow Fine Art in Ascot, the Campden Gallery in Chipping Campden and the Jerram Gallery in Sherborne. He was elected to the NEAC (New English Art Club) in 2021

Approach to Teaching 
In my teaching I aim to help each student get across their own response to each subject with the focus on good observation of light and form. There is a mix of whole class discussion, one to one work and demonstrations of techniques and approaches.

What inspires my own work

I am committed to the practice of plein air painting. The sense of the subject being about to slip away as the light changes lends the working process a sense of urgency. I am often drawn to subjects which have a sense of slippage such as the coast where wet mud or rock pools gives way to water which reflects the sky, or woods where light falling on a visual tangle creates tension between the form and weight of the subject and the play of light which both reveals and disguises it.