The art of FireBall Bill

The world we live in and the moments we
experience are constructed of a balance between the yin and yang, the positive
and the negative, the good and the bad. FireBall Bill is a local artist who
takes insight from the energy sources around him and focuses that energy onto
the canvas. As a cannabis consumer who likes to keep his mind open to the
multitude of experiences that life provides, Bill’s artwork is unique,
contemporary and vibrant. CULTURE sat
down to talk with Bill about his new exploration into surrealistic psychedelic
paintings, his history of fire play and the festivals he tours. Check out his
website or catch him live painting at an event and you will be able to see how
FireBall Bill views the world.

You go by the moniker
Fireball Bill. How did you acquire that name?

I started breathing fire in 1990 or
1991 so it’s been about 24 years now. I’ve always been fascinated with fire, I
lived in Hawaii as a kid and there were fire spinners and fire breathers when
you go to luaus. So I was like, man I could do this for bands! So I started
performing for Seattle bands like industrial goth bands in the early ’90s,
doing some abstract dancing and escaping straight jackets, blowing and
swallowing fire.

What is your favorite
medium to work with and why?

I find that when I work with a medium
it helps me keep in touch with the creative source, kind of like a mystical
thing. I feed off that energy; I believe there is some sort of energy feeding
me, some sort of other source that is guiding my hand. It’s really weird
because I didn’t know I had this talent and I’m just letting whatever happens,
happen. I’m just there for the ride, kind of like a spectator or a tool for
whatever is supposed to happen. I get really experimental and I just play
around with different things and different techniques.

When did you start
consuming cannabis?

I think it helps to unlock the creative
juices and get them to flow. I’ve been smoking cannabis my entire adult life
and it really helps to unlock it now. Before I wasn’t really using it for that
source but now it helps my mediation too, it just relaxes me a lot. Stuff I
create up, I think of these things when I meditate, or have creative
visualizations. Sometimes when I smoke some ganja it helps me out, or I’ll
expand my consciousness in others ways. My mind wanders and I think, so I’ll
just let it go and if there is something that is interesting I’ll catch on to
it and think about it and I’ll see if it will develop further into detail and
when I come out of it I’ll sketch what I saw.

What inspires you to
create?

A lot of people call me a visionary
artist, I don’t know if I want to be considered that, but that’s what a lot of
people call that. Sculptures like the Easter Island Moai, the Pacific Islands,
Aztec and colorful Native American art which are all really spirit based, along
with the energy I feel, the supernatural, the good experiences and the bad
experiences are all incorporated into my artwork. Also music affects me pretty deeply;
I listen to a lot of tribe music, sometimes trippy trance music, whatever I’m
in the mood for. You know, it could even be some crazy old school jazz like
Miles Davis. Even the films that David Lynch creates have a big impact. One
live show I will be painting with Alex Grey, one of my all time idols. I mean
he’s a legendary painter and I’ve followed his work since I was a kid. To paint
next to him at the same show is going to be amazing, I’m sure there is going to
be some inspiration, and I’ll be able to come away from it as a better painter.

facebook.com/BillBallfireball