Ballew, David
Biography from Mitchell Brown Fine Art, Inc.:
Fifty million years ago an iridescent-winged dragonfly alighted, for the final time in its short life, on a mud flat beside a prehistoric stream. The mud hardened to stone and one wing remained there, over the eons. The fossil ended up on David Ballew's living room table, the ancient insect's wing pattern still visible. More recently, Ballew was walking through the aspens above Santa Fe when the quality of light through the shimmering leaves made him stop short. While the moment of exquisite beauty was fresh, he opened his easel and began to paint.
The artist, who has loved rocks and drawing all his life, sees a link between the two events. "What's fascinating is that these are things that usually last a few hours or a few weeks, and here they are 50 or 100 million years later," he says. "For me, paintings are fossils too - they're the traces left from the interaction of an artist with his subject."
Responding to the feeling of awe that stirs at the sight of something mysterious or even mundanely beautiful, and catching the freshness of that moment in paint, is what great artists do, Dave Ballew asserts. Thoughtful and unpretentious, the artist won't include himself in that category although his striking, often intimate oil on canvas landscapes attest to a level of mastery beyond what he may acknowledge. Instead, Ballew places himself in the position of perpetual student. An attitude of always being open to learning and change is necessary, he believes, if one is to unfold one's potential as an artist. "I could spend the next 40 years at it and not achieve anywhere near what I see is possible," Ballew remarks of his painting. "A Sufi teacher once said that the purpose of life is like the horizon: when you reach the point you've been aiming for, a whole new vista opens up."
Ballew constantly refines his skills through disciplined dedication, generally spending six days a week at the easel. For small paintings he works plein-air, aiming for the vitality and authenticity that comes with being on location. On larger pieces he works in the studio, but quickly. Otherwise, he notes, the clear energy of the initial gesture gets bogged down in the reworking of details. One of the most important things he can learn from other artists, he believes, is not a formula for putting down paint, but a way of seeing. His goal is deeper, clearer vision, which he conceives as the first and most important step toward true artistic expression. His approach includes humility, study and the attention focused in the moment of creation. It also means constant searching, a belief in the importance of process over product, and a healthy appreciation for the mysterious. "That's what I'd like to be doing for the rest of my life - playing with the mystery. And if I'm hopeful, if I approach it with respect, painting will allow me to do that."
*Excerpted from an article by Gussie Fauntleroy.
Biography from McLarry Fine Art:
Painter David Ballew was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1955. He was raised in the East and the Midwest and studied art at Indiana University. Attracted by the striking landscape and the radiant light for which New Mexico is renowned, he settled in Santa Fe in 1981. In addition to being surrounded by the terrain he finds most inspiring, living in Santa Fe has enabled Ballew to interact and learn with numerous artist he greatly admires, most notably Irby Brown, Michael Lynch, George Carlson, Ned Jacob and Mark Daily.
Japanese and Chinese art, music and philosophy have greatly influenced Ballew's art work on a number of levels. For many years Ballew has studied a range of spiritual traditions and has practiced meditation and contemplation. He has applied these disciplines to his approach to painting, an approach which includes humility, study and great focus.
Dedicated to his work, Ballew paints six days a week, on his smaller canvases, he works plein air. Ballew is committed to his role of the perpetual student and keeps and attitude of openness to learning and change. He explains, "I could spend the next 40 years at it and not achieve anywhere near what I see is possible. A Sufi teacher once said that the purpose of life is like the horizon: when you reach the point you've been aiming for, a whole new vista opens up."
Fifty million years ago an iridescent-winged dragonfly alighted, for the final time in its short life, on a mud flat beside a prehistoric stream. The mud hardened to stone and one wing remained there, over the eons. The fossil ended up on David Ballew's living room table, the ancient insect's wing pattern still visible. More recently, Ballew was walking through the aspens above Santa Fe when the quality of light through the shimmering leaves made him stop short. While the moment of exquisite beauty was fresh, he opened his easel and began to paint.
The artist, who has loved rocks and drawing all his life, sees a link between the two events. "What's fascinating is that these are things that usually last a few hours or a few weeks, and here they are 50 or 100 million years later," he says. "For me, paintings are fossils too - they're the traces left from the interaction of an artist with his subject."
Responding to the feeling of awe that stirs at the sight of something mysterious or even mundanely beautiful, and catching the freshness of that moment in paint, is what great artists do, Dave Ballew asserts. Thoughtful and unpretentious, the artist won't include himself in that category although his striking, often intimate oil on canvas landscapes attest to a level of mastery beyond what he may acknowledge. Instead, Ballew places himself in the position of perpetual student. An attitude of always being open to learning and change is necessary, he believes, if one is to unfold one's potential as an artist. "I could spend the next 40 years at it and not achieve anywhere near what I see is possible," Ballew remarks of his painting. "A Sufi teacher once said that the purpose of life is like the horizon: when you reach the point you've been aiming for, a whole new vista opens up."
Ballew constantly refines his skills through disciplined dedication, generally spending six days a week at the easel. For small paintings he works plein-air, aiming for the vitality and authenticity that comes with being on location. On larger pieces he works in the studio, but quickly. Otherwise, he notes, the clear energy of the initial gesture gets bogged down in the reworking of details. One of the most important things he can learn from other artists, he believes, is not a formula for putting down paint, but a way of seeing. His goal is deeper, clearer vision, which he conceives as the first and most important step toward true artistic expression. His approach includes humility, study and the attention focused in the moment of creation. It also means constant searching, a belief in the importance of process over product, and a healthy appreciation for the mysterious. "That's what I'd like to be doing for the rest of my life - playing with the mystery. And if I'm hopeful, if I approach it with respect, painting will allow me to do that."
*Excerpted from an article by Gussie Fauntleroy.
Biography from McLarry Fine Art:
Painter David Ballew was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1955. He was raised in the East and the Midwest and studied art at Indiana University. Attracted by the striking landscape and the radiant light for which New Mexico is renowned, he settled in Santa Fe in 1981. In addition to being surrounded by the terrain he finds most inspiring, living in Santa Fe has enabled Ballew to interact and learn with numerous artist he greatly admires, most notably Irby Brown, Michael Lynch, George Carlson, Ned Jacob and Mark Daily.
Japanese and Chinese art, music and philosophy have greatly influenced Ballew's art work on a number of levels. For many years Ballew has studied a range of spiritual traditions and has practiced meditation and contemplation. He has applied these disciplines to his approach to painting, an approach which includes humility, study and great focus.
Dedicated to his work, Ballew paints six days a week, on his smaller canvases, he works plein air. Ballew is committed to his role of the perpetual student and keeps and attitude of openness to learning and change. He explains, "I could spend the next 40 years at it and not achieve anywhere near what I see is possible. A Sufi teacher once said that the purpose of life is like the horizon: when you reach the point you've been aiming for, a whole new vista opens up."
