current events
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WET PAiNT
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In a Different Light
Seasonal artworks will greet you at our upcoming Fairhaven Fourth Friday Art Walk.
August 28th from 2pm - 7pm
1000 Harris Avenue on the Southside of Bellingham, WA.
Historic staircase offers free cardio, and a room with a view!
Multiple Artists hosting in our CoOp Building!
Ben’s 2027 Calendars Are
Now Available!
HARD TO FATHOM
it was thirty summers ago that I returned to my hometown after a dozen years in San Francisco and little time in Seattle.
FUN FACT! An Art Degree doesn’t come with a career play-book.
I saw Bellingham with fresh perspective because of the time away. Turns out I’d be very fortunate at a local level…
*I immediately became involved with Allied Arts of Whatcom County who saw me fit for teaching painting in the local school district. (Today I offer private lessons because of all I learned in their classrooms.)
The Allied Arts perennial holiday festival launched my calendar and greeting card efforts. Seeing the moxie of other Allied Arts members inspired me to promote a line of working wall clocks in vivid color.
*overseeing mural development with the support of school administrators lead me to collaborative murals elsewhere, with local outfits such as churches, service organizations and even the Lighthouse Mission.
*The Bellingham Mayor’s Arts Award was an honor that made me think of artist as integral citizen with a role to play.
*Morgan Block Artists CoOp Building gave me a dedicated workshop that to this day is my second home in the very good company of energetic Artists. I recently toasted my silver jubilee in studio of holiday events offering hot cider and cool art.
*the Whatcom Artists Studio Tour showed me that a studio practice can also serve as a retail gallery.
*Countless merchants saw my paintings worth taking on consignment. Several have carried my paintings for twenty+ years.
*Western WA University invited me to present guest lecture workshops in their Education Department.
*Local nonprofits liked the idea of me standing at my easel with wet paint smack in the middle of their formal dress annual auctions. Turns out doing good as I do well is the absolute highlight of my work.
*relationships forged with school librarians and local bookstores empowered me to launch both of my children’s book titles into the hands of young readers. I can’t say enough about my friend Barbara Jean Hicks for mentoring me in the squirrelly world of self-publishing.
*countless millennials with mad technical skills stepped up to make me look good via websites, videos and even PowerPoint presentations.
*small businesses employed my skills for their branding—signage, logos, product labels, murals, menu covers, etc. (Nothing in Art School said I’d be doing those freestanding face-in-the-hole boards.)
*too-many-to-count magazines that spotlighted my artistry with profile articles that connected me with the public. Additionally their annual Readers’ Polls reflected a local sentiment that the Arts are worth celebrating.
*my dear friend and art licensing diva Alicia Dauber is a local girl affording me national exposure.
*Local events called on me to put my commercial art training to good use on event posters— from dance performances to the campaign for United Way to the renowned tulip festival in Skagit County.
No Artist succeeds alone. Color me grateful, Bellingham —for the countless lucky stars that aligned & extraordinarily validating people that generously engaged, for me to make my way to Full Time status. It is thrilling not only to succeed but witness exponential growth in the local art scene, and this kid with a crayon is glad to be back.
Summer Vibes,
La Conner Style.
Ben’s Showing At La Conner Brewing 117 First Street La Conner, Washington.
July - September 2026!
Click HERE for more details
PEOPLE HAVE STORIES
and I get to tell them. Special occasions like retirement, graduation, milestone birthdays often prompt people to call on me. Special requests for artwork that spotlight families, homes, trail outings, travels, pets, sports accomplishments and beyond all get tossed at me. I adore the process of making something pretty that one day their grandchildren will fight over. My ideal client brings me equal parts art direction and creative freedom. The more you know!
DOWNSIDE UP
Ergonomic comfort sometimes means I do stuff upside down.
Art is whatever you can get away with!
Learn more about my process and see imaginative works in progress.
Drop by my easel today!
Follow me on Facebook!
Subscribe to my Substack!
GREAT BIG CANVAS
now features artworks printed on demand with designs painted by yours truly! I’m thrilled to offer a new way for you to start or add to your collection.
Morgan Block
Check out the website for my CoOp building!
HAD YOU TOLD ME
…as a 12 year old paperboy delivering the daily paper that this generous accolade would come about… I would have probably fallen off my bike!
Great Big Thanks to the readership of The Bellingham Herald.
Commercial Art on a Bigger Scale
Check out Ben’s art at Bellingham’s newest Trader Joe’s location!
Color me grateful for placing Silver in 2024!
Artfelt thanks to those of you who participated in the 14th annual Best of Northwest readers’ poll! Depicting and impacting the local landscape is my ongoing quest. Likewise, Bellingham Alive —now celebrating its 15th anniversary—seeks to spotlight the best and brightest in our beloved region. From tacos and trails to casinos and canines, a record-breaking one million votes were cast this year, across 127 categories.
Living well is an art in itself, and this hometown guy is proud to be part of it.
DRAWN TO IT
Plain old black ink on paper makes for a simple harvest of local color. Sure, I’ve spent decades distilling the details, but the experience is always fresh—and invariably prompts me to see something I might have missed in taking a picture.
Seeing and sharing brings me joy ~every time.
Check out more sketchbook drawings from my Ireland journey HERE!
GIVE A GIFT CERTIFICATE!
Call/Text/Email/Visit Ben for this stellar present like no other ~ Any denomination, no expiration. Please note: redeemable only with the Artist directly and not at venues that retail his work.
360-920-4022
I Made the Cover!
Keep your eyes out for the October 2023 issue of Southside Living, featuring a paint-splattered article about the Mann himself.
Best Local Artist 2022!
I’m the proud winner of Bellingham Alive’s Best in the Northwest for Best Local Artist!
Bellingham Alive: Welcome Guide
Check out this annual digital welcome guide for things to do around Bellingham, including visiting my studio (by appointment only).
Video produced by Eero Johnson
My Trip To Alaska
Watch My Process!
Watch a time lapse of yours truly at the easel :)
Ben & Ink
Another side of my work…. Click here for more!
Skagit Talk
Local Mount Vernon Artist Ben Mann is the Genius Behind 2019 Tulip Festival Poster!
Best Commemorative Poster Award!
Ben is happy to have been selected for the 35th annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival poster design--that's 2019! Ample time to do his best work for this project. See this beautiful poster come to life in the video below!
BEST COMMEMORATIVE POSTER AWARD 2019:
“Each year, the International Festivals & Events Association recognizes outstanding accomplishments and top quality creative, promotional, operational and community outreach programs and materials produced by festivals and events around the world, with the Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards Competition.
This prestigious awards competition strives for the highest degree of excellence in festival and event promotions and operations, and in doing so, has raised the standards and quality of the festivals and events industry to new levels”
Happy Little Trees
The time came for me to throw caution to the wind, and actually tackle a canvas based on the now iconic methods of Sir Bob Ross.
For yours truly, in a word: Surreal. & enlightening, humbling, hilarious, frustrating, ultimately a poignant curve in my road of artistry. ((Imagine being asked to walk like someone else. You walk like you, and have done so for ages, so it's easier said than done. And the frickn tools...not since the late '80s in college have I handled a palette knife. My analogy would be handing a waffle iron to an accomplished sushi specialist..it presents a steep learning curve, side effects may include profanity))
But even 25 years since his passing into the great teal beyond, I could feel the famously gentle encouragement of Mr. Ross, who I deemed the Mr. Rogers of creativity. At the end of the risk and struggle, it was a lovely day in the neighborhood. #artistlife
Art to Purchase: Current Whereabouts
Bellingham
NORTHSHORE VETERINARY
601 - D Electric Avenue
Fairhaven
A LOT OF FLOWERS
1011 Harris Avenue
DRIZZLE
1208 11th Street
GARDEN ROOM FAIRHAVEN
1006 Harris Ave
GOOD EARTH POTTERY
1000 Harris Avenue
MAMBO ITALIANO
1303 12th Street
BEN'S PRIVATE ART STUDIO
(hours by appointment)
Mount Vernon
RISTRETTO COFFEE LOUNGE & WINE BAR
416 S 1st Street
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