Ben Mosley: the footballers' artist

Skylark 2 artist Ben Mosley tells us about his recent painting success in the world of professional football.

I was recently commissioned to do a painting by the League Managers Association (LMA), an organisation that represents football league managers from the Premiership to League 2. The LMA, which found my work through my website, asked me if I would be interested making a painting for its Hall of Fame. I was informed that it would be speaking to other artists, and that I would be given a brief and have to come up with a proposal. In the event, the LMA liked my proposal and I was selected to do a painting for them.

They liked the resulting painting, "The Manager" (shown here), so much that they bought it, and they then commissioned me to do another work to be auctioned off at their annual dinner at the Hilton Hotel in London.

The painting the LMA commissioned had to include all the football league clubs, the FA badge, the PFA badge, the Premiership logo and the Football League logo. I also had to include the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Premiership Trophy, the Championship trophy and the League 1 and 2 trophies. My painting, "A Manager For All Seasons" (illustrated below), shows a manager celebrating and consists of everything that is good about the game. The painting also had to be designed so that a famous manager could sign the painting. I designed the work so that Jose Mourinho could sign the advertising boards in the background.

The annual dinner was designed to be a celebration of the FA Cup, and among the people attending were some of the biggest names in football, including Fabio Capello, the England manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, manager of Manchester United, Jose Mourinho, formerly at Chelsea and now with Real Madrid, and Harry Redknapp, currently manager of Tottenham Hotspur.

The painting was eventually auctioned off for £3,000. Mourinho was particularly impressed with my work and took some of my business cards, as did other football celebrities including Fabio Capello, the England manager.

I have shown in a number of football related shows. “The Beautiful Game", a solo show in Gallery 93 in Bow East, London, in 2006, was a celebration of the World Cup in Germany, and it was televised on "The Lick" on MTV Base. My work was televised on BBC Look North in 2008 during my time as the official artist of Barnsley Football Club, after they had knocked Chelsea and Liverpool out of the FA Cup. I also participated in a show at Wrexham Arts Centre in 2004 that commemorated the 10th anniversary of "Let's Kick Racism Out of Football".

You can see Ben's work at Skylark 2 on the South Bank, London, and find out more about him at www.benmosleyart.com.