This week Benjamin Phillips showed us round his studio. He’s predominately an illustrator and has done a few comic strips  that look like a bit like Quentin Blake’s work after a six day DMT freak out.

The wall behind my desk is a homage to many of my influences and interests. Artist-friends, found imagery and memorabilia from the past fill the space and are a constant reminder of the things I love.

A few years ago I picked up this 3D slide viewer for £15 from a car boot sale back in Hampshire. It’s the closest thing I have to a time-travelling machine as it can transport me back to the 1950’s and show me vivid images of Old Delhi, Zugspitze, Cairo, San Francisco, Basle and Venice just to name a few.

This wonderfully crafted rosette was a gift from one of my best friends, Yeji Yun. She is a very talented artist and an equally beautiful person.

This handsomely bound book is a 5 year diary produced by The Ice Plant, USA. These days I find myself becoming more forgetful than ever and this diary is a very useful resource for keeping account of events which I later refer back to when producing my work.

This suitcase belonged to my deceased Uncle Lenard. He seemed like quite an interesting character although I only ever met him once at a family reunion when I was eleven. So it goes, he was a Japanese prisoner of war in WW2 and when he returned from the camps he was never really the same. Nowadays I use his briefcase to store many of the zines and artist tit and tat I have acquired over the years. This comic is by Steven K. Weissman is one of my favourites, I think the cover is quite brilliant.

This is the Christmas card my Grandma sent me this year. Her work is also heavily influenced by dogs, in particular her two Bichon Frises, Poppy and Lucy. My Nan is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and I feel her artwork sums this up pretty well.

some of Benjamins work

www.benjaminphillips.co.uk

This entry was tagged as benjamin phillips, dmt, illustration, in the studio, quentin blake.