Ben Cameron is an illustrator and artist based in Kent who often works from the same coworking space as myself. I find his work really inspiring and I thought you might like to know more about him.

So Ben, most creatives say they have always been creative, has there been a time you didn’t feel that way?

Strang Paul was actually developed about 3 years ago, when I was working in retail, because it was such a stifling environment, tedious and boring. So to combat this I decided to start doodling and sketching small cartoons in my lunch breaks. From there my drawings grew in ambition and size.

Did you study any creative subjects or are you self taught?

In school, I studied expressive arts and then onto Media studies at college. Some people may think that I missed out on not formerly studying art, but then isn’t creativity about expressing yourself? I did take part in a lot of creative workshops when I was younger but I lost interest as I became older.

If you could collaborate with anyone who would it be?

The answer is ANYONE. Without sounding clichéd I honestly believe that everyone has something to share creatively. With this in mind I decided to start an open project called Doodleshare. This is open ongoing project for anyone to take part in. I am always looking for new projects and people to share interesting ideas with.

Who inspires you both locally and universally?

Lots of people, it is hard to list individuals – but if you look at who I follow on Twitter you will get an idea. But professional artist wise I would say Moose Allain – he has a good balance between word play and beautiful drawings, whilst using interesting techniques for both – this all ties in beautifully with his Twitter feed.

Locally – my Mum – while I was growing up she was incredibly creative. She drew cartoon murals on my bedroom walls and helped me with my school projects, such as creating little books and pieces of work. She encouraged me to focus on attention to detail on things like colours, layout and text. As well as being incredibly supportive and encouraging, she also suggested that I take part in extra curricular projects during summer holidays.

Do you have a “creating” playlist?

It is constantly changing, sometimes it’s my music collection on shuffle, other times it will be a TV series playing in the background. My music taste is very wide, every day is different.

What would you like to achieve in the future?

I want to keep my work interesting for myself and others,supporting myself as I do so.

Can you recommend a creative website you love?

Twitter! It ties everyone in so well, it is the best news service in the world. The amount people I have met through Twitter and been inspired by is ever growing. I can get fantastic feedback about my work and give feedback to others. 5 years ago there is no way I would be able to share my work in the same way.

You can find more work by Ben Cameron on StrangePaul.com and you can contact Ben for commissions on bencameron@me.com

By Natasha Steer