Jonah Ballard has spent most of his life with a passion for art. Growing up in the White Mountains of Arizona, his parents were always untraditional in their line of work; creating their own businesses and involving their three boys in their trials and successes. In 2008, their business at the time changed gave way to a new idea: The Painted Ladies. What started as a small business in the backyard, hand painting witty sayings on sun-bleached pallets, turned into the widely recognized fine art business that Jonah has been able to expand through his art.

Being the second oldest of the four boys, Jonah often lent a hand in weekend markets with his parents and was exposed to the many styles of local artists. With practice and time, he began selling his work along side his parents at the weekend tradeshows and slowly gained more interest in pursuing a career of art.

Jonah, 20 at the time, taught himself techniques and absorbed styles to create his own. He is as heavily influenced today, as he was then by the romantic and symbolic works of William Blake and the beauty of the Southwest. This interest brought way to his first big work titled 'Cactus Heart', which sold shortly after the completion. The high demand for the recreation of the piece lead him to release his first batch of prints which were done on real wood 9"x12" canvases cut by his father in his workshop. He talks about how the wood canvas brought the piece to life in a way that no other artist had done with a print. The Painted Ladies was soon filled with wood prints of his works and later, paper giclees.  

Jonah, now at the age of 25, has been featured in magazines and news outlets across Arizona. His work can be found in galleries in Arizona and prints in store fronts across the United States. What started as a small backyard shop, has now grown to be one of the most widely recognized art businesses in Metro Phoenix. Jonah works along side his family Goodyear, Arizona.

"... My large body of work in the Cactus Head series was the result of the self-study of William Blakes imagination coupled with my love for the Southwest desert. I continue to broaden my subject matter in my artwork and enjoy challenging myself with the more refined techniques of portaiture. I have also had1 a lot of fun with my experimentation in pop culture references and modern interpretations of Western film characters. Although I am not classically trained, I truly believe that being self-taught has allowed my imagination to manifest as it will, unencumbered by any limitations." - Jonah Fox Ballard