It just feels good, the touch of brush to paper, the blend of colour, the texture, but that's not how it all began.
Born on Vancouver Island and raised for the most part in the Cowichan Valley, I
spent my school daze focused on the arts. Spending many extra hours in the art room torturing teachers. By the time I was in Grade 12 I was running my own art company, Minerva Designs, creating one of a kind screen printed t-shirts, silk dyed shirts and artwork. I had found my calling and was chasing it at full speed. I had the luck of being at the right place at the right time and was picked up by a local government program that awards young entrepreneurs and businesses. They provided courses and hands on learning about starting and running a business through Community Futures in Duncan, BC.
With lots of invaluable business learning under my belt, I decided to go to University for Graphic Design. I was awarded a number of bursaries and scholarships for my work in the arts and business and I applied these to attend VIU's (Malaspina College) two year Graphic Design Program. After all, I did want to make money while still being able to create art.
After graduation from VIU I had the grand idea of traveling for an extended amount of time prior to getting my new career started and so I left the Cowichan Valley and took a long drive down through pacific coastal Mexico. This trip lasted for about one and a half years and allowed me to live life with very little restraints and to immerse myself into the Mexican culture and arts (I still love their use of bold colours and design). After this time when I returned home to the Island I worked as a graphic designer for a local magazine publisher based in Maple Bay. But like many youngsters ready to sharpen their teeth on new life experiences I left the Island for the 'big city' when I was 22 and spent 10 years in Vancouver working as a senior designer/art director and had the opportunity to collaborate and work with some of the top advertising and design agencies in BC (Dossier, Subplot, TBWA, Rethink...)
Once the city had lost its luster I returned back to the Cowichan Valley to raise my family. This is where I now run my own Design Company, Factor Creative, while also painting and illustrating.
You can find my design works on the wine labels of Averill Creek (digital illustration) and Cherry Point (hand illustration). As well as other iconic local brews such as Shaftebury Brewing and Vancouver Islander Lager. I always get a great sense of achievement when I see my creative work out in the public's hand, on the shelves of stores and being enjoyed by consumers. There is a new movement in the beer and wine industry that is allowing for greater designs on the packaging and I feel that this is a good medium for creativity while still honing in on the specific brand's identity and true character. I view design as a careful balance between aesthetic beauty and the clear definition of a brand's attributes, easily communicating to the target audience by using the look to tell the story.
I believe that my paintings are what I do to escape the boundaries of work. No creative briefs, deadlines or client presentations. Just me and the canvas harmonizing and creating a piece of art together. Nothing is more exhilarating than watching a painting come to life, change and morph as it is worked and reworked (always to the chagrin of my better half) until it is finally complete. It truly is a very creative and fulfilling experience, something that I am always learning and testing and attempting new tricks, and that seems to have an endless flow of possibilities.
These latest pieces; infectious with energy, are a study of free flowing form and intense colour. With somewhat calculated chaos I create the form while the colours express the desired emotion. The beauty with these pieces is that everyone interprets them in their own way.
Commission's welcome.
Contact Adam Ball by email to adamball@mac.com. For more information visit
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