‘Fell in love with trying to capture that movement and feel on the board.’
BEN JAMES
UK
February 2025
How long have been drawing skateboard sketches and why?
I’ve always drawn and painted. Used to sell bits and pieces: portraits, commissions etc. but didn’t really create anything for 5 or more years. Then, about 3 years ago I had a pretty serious slam doing a rock fakie on a flat bank at concrete waves in Newquay. I fell back and my arm went up in a way that no arms were built to do. Fractured and dislocated my shoulder and couldn’t skate or surf for what they predicted would be 6-9 months. After recovering for a while, I was bored out of my mind, looking for ways to kill time and remembered I had an old set of fineliners and a sketch pad. So, if I couldn’t skate or surf then I’d start drawing them. Fell in love with trying to capture that movement and feel on the board. And for the last 2 years I’ve been developing my style.
Proudest moment?
Tough one. Lots of proud moments in my life. Including graduation, my little boy being born and getting my life back together after it spiraled a bit out of control. But proudest art moment? Probably making my first sale from my first run of skate and surf prints back in 2021. It was just after lockdown and I’d been drawing again for a few months. Lots of friends convinced me to try and sell my pieces and as we are in a town that is dominated by surf and skate tourism, it seemed like a natural fit. So, I built a mobile art gallery that I could use to sell on the streets. Nicknamed the “art cart” and made out of an old hand truck and a battered wooden box, I pushed it into town with 12 of my finest new prints (printed on a fancy printer I bought with Bitcoin) and an hour or so after sitting there an older dude in half cabs, denim shorts and a thrasher T-shirt decided he loved one of my pieces so much that he bought one. I was so stoked. Someone who I didn’t know actually wanted to pay cash for my art!
What are some of other skateboard inspired artists you follow and why?
I’d have to say it’s the overall imagery and culture of skateboarding that inspires me. More photographers and the skaters themselves. I love the 70’s era of the dog town boys, the don’t give a shit attitude and raw power. The style and the movement and the look of them skating. Although the modern stuff also blows my mind. Glenn Friedman and Glenn Joyce are incredible photographers. A guy called Jake Darwen from Australia and Jeff Suds who I follow on insta make photos that I love. Also love the photos of longboard dancers taken by Axel Massin. I’ve looked around for other skateboard artists that use hand drawn imagery and they seem few and far between. I don’t know whether it’s because skateboarding is so hard to draw! Their body positions and shakes are not ones you usually see so I really have to look hard and get the lines right to get an image that I’m satisfied with. One guy that inspired me recently though was on a trip to Vienna. We lucked into this art exhibition where there was a surf art show from a guy called HANS WEIGAND. The movement and use of lines in his work has definitely inspired my newer stuff.
Which board company do you like most in terms of their graphics?
In the 90’s it was alien workshop for their graphics and probably Blind for their font and design. Loved the colours and the alien head (cos I was a teenager!) but loved the rough around the edges feel of blind. Now I tend to ride bigger pool and bowl boards I like Madness and their graphics are super sick. It’s mad how far board graphics have come over the years even though the classic designs still stand up to the modern art world of today’s decks. In my opinion.
If you could interview any person in the world, who would it be?
Another tough question. I’ll stick to skating to at least narrow it down a bit. After watching alot of his stuff recently it would probably be John Cardiel. He’d have some amazing stories and I’d love to see some lost pics to use as reference for my work. He had such a sick skate style and body position when doing tricks. Plus, his recovery from injury is an inspiration. Good to end on a high note!
‘I love the 70’s era of the dog town boys, the don’t give a shit attitude and raw power.’