Avant Studio & Gallery

Ben L. Avant


Ben Avant was born and raised in Alpine, Texas in the heart of the Big Bend where he received his first lessons in oil painting at age five. He began drawing at an earlier age but cannot recall when. He has lived and worked in various parts of Texas and for sixteen years in Colorado, where he first showed in art galleries in Denver during the years 1990-1994. He was one of the original members of Asylum Gallery, where several very talented artists showed alongside Mr. Avant and to this day remain important influences, such as Clay Schonberger, Bruce Clark, Leonard Pawlowski, Mikell Haynes, Jim LaValle and Scott Purman. Of these, Pawlowski could most accurately be described as his mentor.
Some of Mr. Avant’s most important influences are Salvador Dali, Rene Magritte, Johannes Vermeer, Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, and Van Gogh. There are, of course, many others. Mr. Avant is mainly self-taught along with some formal training and has long devoted much of his time to studying the works of the Masters, but it was Dali who first inspired him to study art and not to merely enjoy it as a hobby. From Dali he has also learned both the method and the madness.
While drawing heavily on the influence of other artists both living and dead, the artist believes very strongly that invention, rather than imitation, is the key to the sublime level of attainment to which he aspires, and he does not like to repeat anything, including his own elements of style.
Mr. Avant draws a great deal of inspiration from working with live models and often viewers who have seen one some a limited number of his pieces conclude that he only does figurative work, because there is such an abundance of it. In reality, he does surrealistic paintings that are totally unrelated to figurative work, surrealistic paintings employing human and/or animal figures, and numerous plein air paintings, most of which are impressionistic. The next logical step will be the invention of an art form more difficult to classify.
It would be a grave error to fail to mention that most of his muses have wings.
Mr. Avant has shown in Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas, and has won numerous top awards locally in El Paso.

Sally Backey - Avant

Artist Statement





Inspirations:
My inspiration has always come from the outdoors. The outdoors can include nature and man made subjects.
When I am working my mind is often on Mother Nature and her creations. Flowers, grasses, meadows and tree leaves. When I am looking at man made items I will abstract their shapes but allowing the viewer to still understand what they are looking at.

Artists:
My greatest inspiration came from George O’Keefe. I began by seeing her art in magazines, calendars, etc. Then I began to read about her life and her travels. I admire her tenacity, her unfound fear for doing as she thought fit for herself and the interesting process of her choices. It has only been recently I have found her nitch in the “modern” painting arena to be understood.
A very recent discovery was Milton Avery. His work explained to me that my way of seeing subjects was good. Not something to be hidden.
The French Impressionists gave me my first view of fine art. The subject matter and the light they obtained in their paintings captured me. Cezanne brought the outdoors to me even when in the end of his days he was studio painting only.
Lately, I have found painting people to be an interesting area to work. The Renoir, Pisarro, Manet, Morisot and Cassett have inspired me to allow myself to paint people has they are in their daily lives.
My abstraction comes from the Commercial (Graphic) Designers of the 1940’s, 1950’s and 1960’s. Their concepts for advertising and illustration gave me ideas that are instilled into my art.

Philosophy:
My basic philosophy is to spread love into this world the best way I know how, which is to produce, teach and give art to all who want it.