The Art

Much of Bob’s visual art features in a book, charting the creative journey from his home town of Bideford in North Devon, to Brighton and then London. Explore his art in BOB BENTLEY - IN PERSPECTIVE, Artwork from 1962 to 2022. The book has a foreward by critic Richard Cork and is available for purchase in the SHOP section of this website.
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From art school days highlights include EARLY ABSTRACTION, lines being taken for walks in LINE DRAWINGS and people of all types revealed in FIGURES AND PORTRAITS.
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We have SELF PORTRAITS and in Brighton a dip in THE SEA. Then there was obsession with Pre-Raphaelite muse JANE MORRIS and after reading the Günter Grass novel THE TIN DRUM a decision
to create etched illustrations - for the first and last chapters.
 
Getting into sleepy interpretation there is 
THE DREAM and an unsettling STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS narrative which sets up some disturbing images. THE MARTYRDOM OF FRANCIS BACON was followed by images created in SWEDEN and slightly later a response to the devastating THALIDOMIDE Big Pharma scandal.
 
After the ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART film School, the artwork developed alongside the film and TV career. Much of it drew from myths and legends, like RAPUNZEL and LEDA AND THE SWAN. Cross-over happened with a TV programme on Japanese artist Hokusai, inspiring MERMAID DREAMS.
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Various work was influenced by travel to other countries while filming, like Japan and INDIA. The BALI influenced paintings and drawings came about in a different way, and a short film eventually emerged. 
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Personal circumstances gave rise to LOVING MEMORY and family are engaged at Christmas and birthdays with CARTOON CARDS.
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The coronavirus pandemic helped in the creation of LOCKDOWN, the final chapter in the book.
                  
OTHER BOOKS
Apart from the book of Bob’s art, there are three other publications. THE PLEASURE OF ROPE is a companion piece to the feature documentary of the same name. SHUNGA+BIJINGA=EROTICA shows examples from his extensive collection of Japanese prints. A TAKE ON THE WORLD 1970's shows a selection of photographs by Bob Bentley, together with his very personal accompanying text, revealing a rare view of the world as he saw it in the 1970s