allenball-first draft

I live very near to the St.Johns river, in a small wooded neighborhood. The trees are tall and healthy and stand quiet, most days i can hear the wind of the river in the needles of the pine trees and a multitude of birds singing. I try to affect the viewers of my works and provoke the meditative calm that the natural world provides me. I am a big fan of ethereal and soft focus compositions as a tool for quiet paintings and drawings; my favorite time of day is the foggy hour around six to seven in the morning. I enjoy soft light, and a quiet clash of light and dark, blue and red, warm and cool. Most of my paintings, drawings, and ceramics have an unavoidable natural overtone, I try to create pieces which are honest, unpretentious and painterly. I want my work to reveal the hand of the artist, to be a document of their making; my goal is to create a sense of effortless ease and  make the work as a whole feel light and unburdened by perfectionism.

AllenBall_statement outline

I paint, draw, and throw pots as meditation. Nature is peaceful and calming, slow and quiet; everything I do I try to evoke the emotions the natural world gives me and relay them to whomever views my work. When work is going well I am happy, self-actualized, and at peace.  I try to create stoic well designed compositions. Line quality and economy of form have always been very important to me.

Timeless elegance, soft focus, chic, bright, white, fresh, reflected light, twilight, herbaceous, woodland, environmental, lively, movement, painterly, ethereal, fog, mist, daybreak, first light, calming, peaceful,  meditative, semi matte, harmony of line and color, 

--The accomplishment and joy when I finish a successful work, and the realization that I’m honing my skills.

--Economy of line, light is strong; shadows are open not oppressive, strong color harmony, strong composition, and falls within my list of words and phrases above.

--I enjoy soft light, and a quiet clash of light and dark, blue and red, warm and cool. I enjoy painterly texture and like to see the hand of the artist. Each work is a record of its manufacture. Each work reveals the way in which it was created.

allen ball_Work Samples

Allen Ball

Etching 1, 2013

Arches paper, 11 X 7.5 inches

First in a series of three; an abstract etching of three groups of people in an atmospheric outdoor space. Designed to give a calming effect; On crème paper in warm black ink.

Allen Ball

Untitled, 2013

Watercolor & salt, on Bristol, 11 X 14 inces

An abstract ethereal backlit mist in a confined space, made with watercolors and sea salt to add a grainy effect to the composition. Made to be meditative and calming.

Allen Ball

Still life 1, 2013

Oil on Linen, 12 X 16 inches

A painting of light and shadow, parts of the painting remain purposely unfinished or painterly to preserve vibrancy of paint and brush marks. An overly bright light was used on a white setting to give a contemporary feel to a traditional alla prima still life.