Record Breaker!

Ben Riley really is a record breaker. He breaks records, then turns them in to art. Having seen him on BBC One’s One Show, 4walls was inspired to find out more!

Born in 1981, Ben Riley is an accomplished British artist, based in Staffordshire – merging the boundaries of art and music. Since his early life, music had played a significant role in the journey to professional artist. Studying the academics of art since his teenage years, Ben has established a number of signatures, which include concept art, and crossover techniques
Since 2002, Ben has been delivering his art professionally to an international audience focusing on iconic and stimulating portraiture worldwide, gaining notoriety in the capture of mood, soul and character of a subject. With an accolade of celebrity and professional collectors to his books, Ben’s commissioned pieces have featured proudly throughout media, television and press worldwide.


“The human face is a landscape of detail, showing its lifelong adventure. Each one unique to the rest, the story changes each time holding a multitude of twists and turns. The eyes, the mouth, the skin, the tell-tale signs of the life and journey – captured in the peaks and troughs of the lines, just like the vinyl record. Each feature is its own song, each subject – its own genre, and living phonograph of mood, feeling, character and sheer existence… beautiful…”

Rock ‘n’ roll

Ben has produced some absolutely stunning work which includes portraits of numerous music legends – including David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Prince, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Debbie Harry and Amy Winehouse.


During the One Show appearance, Ben was asked to produce a piece for Brian May in just two hours – his artwork normally takes a two to three days! “He liked it!” Ben says!

“I never directly copy photographs – I inject my own interpretation using vinyl records.” The use of records started when his grandfather was about to throw out a load of old 78s – the rest is history!

This summer he has a new collection coming out and, for the future, Ben is looking to take his unique brand of art to Dubai, Europe and Asia.


Framing is an important finishing touch, Ben says: “It makes my work pop!”

In terms of marketing, Ben is a fan of Facebook as it is a good way to reach his 35 to 50 year old customer base. He is also on Twitter and Instagram and has some fantastic videos on YouTube.

Follow Ben on social media @benrileyart
benrileyart.com