1. Ben Heine

2. briefly studied History of Art, Painting and Sculpture at “Hastings College of Arts & Technology" (England) but he is a self-taught person in Drawing and Photography. Born June 12, 1983 in Abidjan, Ivory coast Discovered art when he was about 12 years old and it was a never ending adventure in drawing and painting. grew up in Abidjan, lived there 7 years, along with his parents and his 3 sisters. His father was a commercial engineer and his mother a Modern Jazz dance teacher. Through his studies, he learned several languages French, Dutch, Polish, Spanish and Russian.

3. PROFESSIONAL EVOLUTION Since 2006 until now, his pictorial works have been published in famous Belgian and international newspapers and magazines (http://www.benheine.com/press.php)http://www.benheine.com/press.php Ben Heine’s artworks have been exhibited in Belgium, Great Britain, France, Canada, USA, Germany, Turkey, Romania, Brazil, South Korea and Spain Ben is currently represented by several well-established art galleries in Belgium and abroad Following his studies, Ben has tried all kinds of different jobs but visual creation has always been his main concern

4. PROJECTS PENCIL VS. CAMREA DIGITAL CIRCLISM FLESH & ACRYLIC PHOTOGRAPHY PORTRAIT ILLUSTRATION

5. PENCIL VS. CAMREA Pencil Vs Camera mixes drawing and photography, imagination and reality.

6. Its full of magic, illusion, poetry and surrealism. PENCIL VS. CAMREA

7. Ben usually integrates an inventive hand made drawing in front of a realistic background. Ben says the initial idea of this "Pencil Vs Camera" concept came by coincidence while he was writing a letter in his family house in Braives, Belgium. Ben’s hand is always clearly visible; it represents the close connection between the viewer, the artist and the artwork. The drawing is always in black and white while the photo is often very colorful, this amplifies the contrast between the two mediums.

8. Here are several methods that Ben suggests to achieve the same affect: A) (Traditional way 1) Make a crazy drawing on paper, take a picture of your hand holding it with a nice landscape behind. B) (Traditional way 2) Take a photo of a great place, print it, make a surreal drawing still connected with the atmosphere of the photo, place the drawing over the picture with your hand holding it, take a new picture of this composition, reframe and retouch the arrangement afterwards if necessary. C) (Digital way 1) Take a photo of your hand holding the paper with a drawing on it, take another photo of any landscape, match them and assemble them afterwards in any digital photo editing software. D) (Digital way 2) Make a full digital work : create a digital drawing over a digital painting (landscape + paper)

9. Influence s deeply influenced by Belgian Surrealism, German Expressionism, American Pop Art, and Social Realism. Nature: Nature is a god for Ben. He often spends days or weeks walking in empty areas, forests, deserts or mountains, searching for amazing landscapes. Human intelligence: Ben is fascinated by all the accomplishments of Mankind: Knowledge, Culture, Sciences, Arts, Music, Architecture, Engineering, Computers, Technology Human societies: Interactions between people and the way human beings find amazing solutions to complex problems have always intrigued and inspired Ben. Personal stuff: Ben is also inspired by many small events in his life, his family, friends and the people he loves

10. Canon: Canon EOS Mark II. Canon lens EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM. Canon lens EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. Samsung: Samsung NX11. Samsung lens 50-200mm f 4.0-5.6 ois. Samsung ifunction lens 20-50mm f 3.5-5.6. Here are the cameras and lenses Ben currently uses:

11. BIBLIOGRAP HY Heine, Ben. “Ben Heine Interviewed by “Digital Artist“ Magazine.” 13 Sept. 2010. http://benjaminheine.blogspot.com/2010/09/ben-heine- interviewed-by-digital-artist_13.html (accessed Jan. 22, 2012). Heine, Ben. “Biography.” n.d. http://www.benheine.com/bio.php (accessed Jan. 20, 2012). Heine, Ben. “Interviews.” n.d. http://www.benheine.com/interviews.php (accessed Jan. 20, 2012). Heine, Ben. “Pencil Vs Camera.” 07 Feb. 2010. http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/sets/72157623723956821/ (20 Jan. 2012).