Benjamin J Hummel

Award-winning children’s book illustrator Benjamin J Hummel is a storyteller at heart. He started as a puppeteer, before eventually launching a career as a commercial illustrator and 3D chalk artist. He has illustrated numerous children’s books, as well as puzzles magazines, journals, and greeting cards.

Some repeated themes continue to influence his creativity. As a Colorado native, his art and stories often include ideas of the romantic West, history, the great outdoors, baseball, and the innocence of childhood. His work is characterized by a joyful sense of nostalgia and of a time gone by.

Benjamin’s other passion is teaching. He is currently an adjunct professor at Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, where he teaches aspiring artists all about illustration and the thrill of storytelling.

What makes Benjamin’s story unique is the fact that his lives and conducts his life while suffering the ravages of a debilitating chronic auto-immune disorder, a disease he was born with and has lived with all his life. This disease eventually resulted in, not one, but two liver transplantations when he was 15 years old. And now he finds himself listed for a third time. Knowing firsthand the fragility of life, Benjamin creates his art and tells his stories with the intent to focus on the triumphs and richest joys we have in our everyday experiences. He creates to overcome the struggles of everyday life by depicting imagery that encourages others to live life more fully.