Sometimes, life’s road to a destination is far less straight and defined than we would like. Ben Congdon’s destination as a wildlife and landscape oil painter, was far from clear during many of the twists and turns. For Ben, a joint love of both the outdoors and art had been in place since he was young. He would dream of epic fishing trips, pour over outdoor magazines, and long for the next camping trip. When the outdoors weren’t available, he would spend hours drawing bass jumping, sketching improbable tree forts, and attempt to capture scenes from stories his Dad would read to the family at night.
Carrying this love through high school, he developed a knack for intricate detail, sometimes spending months with fine-tipped pens laboring over blades of grass and tufts of fur. Color was of less importance, as he attempted to copy real life as closely as possible. As he progressed into college with a major in illustration, his desire to adhere to strict realism was challenged by the wide variety of styles required in his classes. It was here that he first tried oil painting, finding it intriguing though challenging as the detail he so highly valued could not be created the same way as with pen or pencil. Finally beginning to appreciate color, Ben still maintained his desire for realism which led to him winning illustrator of the year at his university and a national student award. Still, he felt that it somehow held him back.
After graduation he was to find that his dream of working as a professional illustrator was hard to come by. Eventually, he took what he had learned of design in school and freelance, and became a full-time graphic designer. For five years he worked for a flag and banner company, occasionally getting to “dust off” his pencils or palette, but assuming that his artistic future would be relegated to a computer screen. It was on a trip to the San Juan mountains in Colorado that a long-dormant desire sprang up inside him. The wildlife and natural beauty all around produced a longing to again pursue fine art. But rather than design that was rigid with detail, it would be vivid, engaging artwork with color and texture created with a medium Ben hadn’t touched for seven years- oil paint.
Taking a leap of faith, he set out to discover and refine his technique while building the foundation of a professional artist from scratch. The journey is far from over and the destination will always be on the horizon as he strives to improve his style and raise his abilities to the next level. He welcomes any and all who wish to join him during this time of discovery and he cannot wait to see what God has in store around the next bend in the road!
