Brian Ballard was born in Belfast in 1943 and was trained at the College of Art in Belfast and Liverpool. While he has spent most of his career in Belfast he also spends long periods of time living and working in his house on remote and rugged island of Inishfree off the coast of Donegal.

His contemporary approach to painting alternates between figurative treatment of nudes, landscape and expressionistic still life, all of which he practices in equal measure and intensity.

His work is emotional, intuitive and expressive, yet firmly portrays the subject before him. Each canvas possesses a strength of intimacy and immediacy that prompts quiet admiration from the viewer. Every individual painting is a timeless chronicle of found objects, the human figure or the natural world. Captured elements are marshalled into an order chosen by the artist and then crystallised to offer a creative impression of a familiar subject. Brian Ballard’s work is marked by purity of expression and fidelity to nature as he witnesses it.

His work can be found in many collections including The Arts Council of Ireland, A.I.B., Crawford Municipal Gallery Cork, The Ulster Museum, The National Trust, Waterford Wedgewood PLC and Irish Rock Legends U2.