Meet Jonah Ballard | Local Arizona Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jonah Ballard and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jonah, what do you attribute your success to?
Something my parents always instilled in me was to see where I want to be and feel as though I’m there. To know the power of our imagination. And I think that is the most important factor behind the success of The Painted Ladies. When it comes to achieving a short term goal like completing a series of pieces, or a long term goal, like expanding sales to other states, I imagine how it would feel to have achieved those goals. To live as though it has happened. Looking back in hindsight, I am now where I imagined I would be 10 years ago.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
All my work is inspired by the desert. I am in Arizona native, born and raised. The desert has always been what has inspired my work with the beautiful muted landscape and detailed cactus. I often get recognized for my cactus headpieces as well as my cactus food art. My artistic love really started in junior high, as I would spend extra hours after school in the art room experimenting. It wasn’t until five years ago that I really refined my work and found a unique personal style.

To get to where I am now was definitely not an overnight success. We had started the Painted Ladies in 2008, and are just now expanding to other stores across the United States. As I had talked about before, my imagination and positive thinking is really what has gotten me over any hurdles and placed me where I am today.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I am inside in my studio 90% of the time, but when I do get out I love to visit the Superstition Meadery in downtown Phoenix. Me and my wife discovered the Meadery while in Prescott and once they opened up a place in Phoenix, it has been one of our favorite places to unwind. I do also enjoy walking down old town Scottsdale and window shopping with all of the galleries in the area. I love to admire other artists work.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My parents and family have played such a vital role in my success. My mother was the one who originally taught me to paint. She had me help her with, what seemed like at the time, tedious mundane lettering for home decor signs. But that later taught me to bring patience and detail into my current pieces.

Both my parents never worked normal 9 to 5 jobs, they were always creating something for themselves. And that’s what lit the fire inside me to step outside of the norm and do what I love, even when at times it seemed to move at a snail pace.

Today my family is what makes our business possible. My dad and brother do the woodworking for my wood prints. My mother stocks stores around the valley that carry my work. My wife runs my social media and website, shipping out orders across the United States. Without them I wouldn’t be able to focus solely on my art and be creating all the time.

Website: thepaintedladies.org

Instagram: the_paintedladies