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Ben Tour, 1977 | Watercolor painter

Ben Tour has developed a series of watercolor portraits with touching character and expression.
The Vancouver-based painter has been featured in galleries all over the world, starting from his first exhibition in Toronto, Ontario in 2000.
His greatest work is in his touching watercolor portraits, a range that includes subtle colors and happy mistakes.


Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour’s paintings and drawings are primarily portraits, of characters real and imagined, forming a kind of visual diary of personalities that have impressed Tour, and inspired him, even in their absence, to attempt capturing the qualities of those impressions.
The images are nearly always composed of a central figure occupying an indistinct ground, with passages of pristine white space offsetting densely detailed areas, keeping the eye curious.

Subtle variations in color and the unexpected transitions between them give both the figures and their surroundings a haunting, indeterminate aura and rich painterly texture.
Faces are modeled using dissonant pigmentation and jaunty, distorted contours; his portraiture is not realist, it is evocative.
It has gravitas, wit and specificity without regard for accuracy.

He has shown his work in galleries across the US and Canada. Clients include BMW, Absolut, Burton, Nike Snowboarding and Lifetime Collective.
Ben Tour lives on The Sunshine Coast, British Columbia.

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter

Ben Tour 1977 | Canadian Watercolor painter