Born in 1977 in Toronto, Canada, Ben Tour has a degree in Illustration from Sheridan College in Ontario.
Tour’s paintings primarily focus on the human figure – many of them female. Tour “channels a dark, often haunting sense of humanism in his work. His observations deftly inform his paintings, enabling him to capture the essence of a character, and then distort that view any way he desires. Frenetic lines, swaths of color, and intimate angles all convey a sense that Tour may not only be drawing inspiration from the lives of strangers he observes, but manifesting his own personal experiences as well.” (from artist website)
Tour’s pieces are labour intensive using watered-down acrylics, inks, spray paint and often Letraset. Tour has exhibited in numerous galleries across Canada and the US as well as Hamburg, Germany. His work has also been featured in publications including BLK/MRKT One (and Two), Juxtapoz, and Two Faced: The Changing Face of Portraiture.
Ben Tour currently lives and works on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia with his Wife and two children. To see more of Tour’s work, visit TheTourShow.com.
Sources: Matthew Newton, Cultblender