ARTIST NO.31 BEN ROSS

When artist Ben Ross is working away in his Newport gallery and wants a coffee or meal, he’s got it good. Dangerously good, as he puts it. Right next door is Queen Ester, where the coffee machine cranks, and the menu brims with food that’s hard to pronounce but too easy to eat; Israeli and Middle Eastern delights like shifka, sabich, amba, zhug, all of it please, with those mind-blowing falafel. Plus, what a vibe. Ben describes “There’s nothing better than painting and having happy customers take a look through the gallery as they wait for their orders, café music spilling over, singing, sometimes dancing.” We’re happy to feature Ben, via his hyperlocal, Single O supplied café, Queen Ester, on this edition art bag. Speaking of happy, positive art is the aim of the game for Ben, who was inspired by vibrant, pastel hues while on a life-changing surf trip in Mexico. He returned home with a mission to produce art that would uplift. For this bag you’re holding, Ben switches his normal pastels and crisp white canvas for a brown kraft background (the art bag uniform), and still has no problems in happily whisking us away with his plunging cold brew characters. Ben shares, “It’s something fun, a pipe dream of mine to float off into the morning into a big glass of coffee with a ladle in hand and worries out the door.” Cheers to the crew at Queen Ester, and a big thanks to Ben for this special piece.