Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Ball.
Hi Mary, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve been painting for as long as I can remember. As a child, instead of staying up late reading under the covers, I’d be sketching. It always felt less like something I chose and more like something I was called to do. I painted constantly and took art classes throughout middle and high school, and I was lucky to have some incredible teachers who encouraged me to keep going.
I went on to study painting at the University of Georgia and then earned my MFA from the New York Academy of Art. After working and painting in New York for a while, I moved to New Orleans, and that’s where my career as an artist really began to take shape. My paintings found homes all over New Orleans, and I found a community there that I’ll always cherish.
In the past few years, life has filled in around the painting in the form of marriage, children, and a move to Birmingham, Alabama. We have two sweet baby girls, one labradoodle, and a life that looks very different from my New York and New Orleans days, but painting has remained the constant through all of it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not. Is anything worthwhile ever a smooth road?
I was always encouraged to paint by my teachers and mentors, but in the same breath I was often told how difficult, if not impossible, it would be to actually make a career out of it. I mostly chose to ignore that until I graduated college with a degree in painting and my dad wanted to know what exactly I planned to do with it.
So naturally, I doubled down and went to graduate school for painting in New York City. My practical plan was that I could use my MFA to teach at a college. A real person job, with benefits! After graduating from the New York Academy of Art, I tried a handful of different jobs in New York and quickly realized that the more conventional working world was not for me. I would rather struggle to make a life as an artist than be comfortable doing something I didn’t care about.
There have been plenty of struggles along the way: financial uncertainty, rejection, comparison, periods when work wasn’t selling, and the constant question of whether I was being completely unrealistic. But I think that uncertainty also forced me to become resourceful and persistent. At some point, I stopped thinking of painting as something I hoped I could make work and started treating it as something I was going to make work. There was never really a Plan B.
And even now, I don’t think a career in art ever becomes completely smooth. The challenges just change. These days, one of the biggest is figuring out how to protect the time and mental space to paint while raising a family. But I’ve learned that success, at least for me, isn’t about eliminating the struggle. It’s about creating a life that allows me to keep doing what I love.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a painter working primarily with ink and acrylic. My work is very process-driven and intuitive. I rarely begin a painting knowing what it will become. I build up layers of marks, color, and pattern and pay attention to what begins to emerge. Figures, animals, symbols, and landscapes tend to reveal themselves along the way. I follow those discoveries rather than trying to force the painting toward a predetermined idea.
I think my drive and true obsession with painting are a big part of what sets my practice apart. I’m constantly wanting to paint because the possibilities for discovery feel endless. It’s also the only time I feel like my brain is working properly. Strangely, I work best when there’s mess, chaos, and absolutely no plan. I often turn my paintings upside down and look at them through squinted eyes. Somehow, seeing them less clearly allows me to see more clearly what’s actually important. As you can imagine, this way of operating doesn’t translate particularly well to maintaining a household, schedule, or social calendar. There’s an element of chance in my process, but also a lot of looking, responding, and knowing when to leave something alone. I want the finished paintings to retain that sense of discovery and feel a little dreamlike, as though you’re seeing something familiar that you can’t quite place.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve developed a visual language that feels distinctly my own. My work has changed a lot over the years, but that instinct to trust the painting and let it lead me has stayed at the center of what I do
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
There are no rules when it comes to art. Embrace that. Don’t follow someone else’s formula for how to succeed. Pave your own path and lean into what makes you different. Make lots of ugly, bad work. Those are often the pieces that lead to the biggest breakthroughs. Don’t let money or “likes” define how you feel about your work.
Pricing:
- $2,500–$13,000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Maryballart.com
- Instagram: @maryball_
