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InspirationArt & Culture

Artist creates vibrant portraits of animals and people through instinctual methods

Ellie Benton is a graphic artist from Lincoln that specialises in creating portraits of animals and people. Through applying spontaneous strokes of saturated colour, she explores the energy and character of her subjects.

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Vibrant illustration of a red flamingo with flowing mane-like feathers against a turquoise and blue water background with dynamic brushstrokes

After studying Graphic Design at Nottingham Trent University, Ellie now works as a full time Graphic Designer. Of her creative process, she explains: "I work in a very instinctual way, not liking to plan too much what happens. I enjoy layering up colours in response to whatever strokes I have previously made on the canvas and seeing where it takes me.

"My art is personal to me and I see it as a way of making sense of the chaos around me, allowing me to zone out of life and focus on the work in front of me. As Picasso famously said, 'Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.'"

Discover more at elliebenton.com.

Via direct submission | All images courtesy of Ellie Benton

Two figures embrace against a vibrant blue background with red and orange accents in Ellie Benton's expressive portrait painting
Vibrant portrait of a man's face created with bold strokes of blue, red, orange and yellow paint layered spontaneously across the canvas, signed by Ellie Benton
Vibrant portrait of a lion's head painted in bold strokes of red, orange, yellow and blue against a dark background, with expressive white-highlighted eyes
Vibrant portrait of a lion's face rendered in bold strokes of red, yellow, blue and orange with striking amber eyes
Vibrant portrait of a snarling big cat with layered strokes of orange, blue, red and yellow paint creating an expressive, energetic composition
Two koalas rendered in vibrant, layered strokes of blue, red, yellow, pink and orange against a warm, multicoloured background
Vibrant portrait of a penguin with bold strokes of red, orange, yellow and blue against a colourful cloudy sky, surrounded by other penguins
A colourful swan with vibrant rainbow-hued plumage in shades of pink, purple, blue and green floats on water against an abstracted, painterly background
Vibrant portrait of a zebra's head painted in bold strokes of yellow, green, blue and white against a dark background, signed by Ellie Benton
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