A B O U T

Ben Westmorland was born on the 2nd of March, 2005. Interested in art from a young age, his love for creating imaginary worlds would quickly begin to evolve as he grew older, becoming a fully-fledged passion by the time he was twelve years old. His primary catalyst was sighted when he was very young, a watercolour painting by his father, Stuart Westmorland, which was hung in Ben’s grandparents house. Ben’s creative journey, however, would see several pitstops and road blocks. Ben is diagnosed with high-functioning autism and social anxiety (this plays into his work at a later point), which brought him out of education from an early age and resulted in a complications to his social life. Often feeling isolated and without community, Ben depicts this loneliness through worlds that feel uninhabitable and alien. Take his most recent work ‘FRACTAL’ and this can be seen in the two pieces quite clearly. Homes broken and swallowed up by moss and vegetation, alien forms that can only mimic human life.

Living in the Western reaches of Wales, UK, Ben draws a lot of his ideas from the local environment and scenery. Surrounded by trees and overgrown cottages forgotten to time, there’s no wonder why his internal worlds mirror the isolation yet absolute serenity of his home.

E D U C A T I O N

While his early education had very little to do with his passion for art, the most obvious starting point for Ben’s creative development would be the few art classes he could physically attend in his brief secondary school education. Often excelling in the tasks assigned to him, he would aim to do art as a GCSE- though this would fall through when his anxiety peeked in 2019-2020.

In his time away from education, Ben would attend art classes and work continuously in self-educating himself in his subjects. Soon he would begin developing skills in illustration, 3D design and graphic design, with acrylic painting being introduced at a later date. Around 2022, Ben would attend a Level 2 art and design course on Pibwrlwyd‍ campus in Carmarthen, under Coleg Sir Gâr. Here he would achieve a UAL Level 2, however the majority of this course was completed from home.

Two years later in 2024, Ben joined the Access Course on a parallel campus on Jobs Well Road, Carmarthen. Here he learned various techniques and methods on-site about printmaking and painting, illustration and ceramics. He achieved a high grade and won Student of the Year in his class.

L I F E I N 2 0 2 6

Ben still currently resides in the West of Wales, UK. Enjoying the local countryside and imbuing it into his work. Looking to push his work into a more experimental and collaborative dimension, he has worked with fellow upcoming artists in all fields, you can find his past collaborations here.