Ben Groff

From an early age, I drew pictures in pencil, continuing into my mature years.  When I finally came to painting in oils, this emphasis on clarity of line and form carried on into the new medium and I found myself to be by nature a realistic artist.  But realism must never be an end in itself; rather the brush must adapt itself to the object and the object to the brush so that a deeper sense of the reality of the scene can emerge.  Above all I seek to work with heightened color and light to express the spiritual essence that I find in that sudden, transitory moment of illumination the image contains, making it permanent.

I was born in Pennsylvania, growing up there and among the little hills of Rockland County, New York.  I moved to Seattle after college, later to nearby Lynnwood, Washington, and have lived here ever since, enjoying a long career as a nurse at Virginia Mason Hospital.  My interests have included hiking, mountaineering, and world travel, from which I draw most of my images.  However my deepest concern has always been pan-artistic, spanning music, photography, art, and literature; I have been a fiction writer with many published stories.  I am married with two grown children and two lovely granddaughters.

My paintings can be seen at any time at Gallery North, 401 Main St., Edmonds WA, 425-774-0946.

PLEASE CONTACT ME: ben@bengroffoilpaintings.com