By Anna Robertson Ham

Ben Tuck is talented beyond his years. Looking at these paintings, one would think that the artist had been painting for years, perfecting their skills. But Ben has been creating these amazing works since only twelve years of age. He is now fourteen years old and enjoys painting very much. His artistic journey began in 2018 while he was looking through painting tutorials on YouTube. “I came across Bob Ross videos, and I liked them,” explains Ben.

“I started with acrylics, but I began using oils this summer, and I really like using those better,” he says. When it comes to what he enjoys painting, he says, “landscapes and galaxies because I think they are cool and inspiring.”

Ben’s work won second place in a contest in 2018, at Allendale which was his school at the time. Last school year, he also won his school’s talent show, a virtual talent school where students emailed their video entries. Ben submitted a timelapse video of him painting and a recording of him playing the piano for background music and submitted that for his entry. He loves the piano and is currently arranging music for Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin for his school band so that he can play the piano part with them.

On top of painting and playing the piano, Ben  plays the drums in a competition band and his school band. In February, he will be playing the drums with his competition band at Walt Disney World during the cheerleading competition at the ESPN National Championship. Disney also invited his school band to come for their 50th Anniversary event, just a month after the cheerleading competition. 

If you would like to see Ben’s work in person, he will have a booth at the Spring Station Middle School Market Place held on December 4th, from 9 am to 3 pm. In addition, he will be doing live paintings and donating them for the school’s auction, a fundraiser for the school’s band program.