Meet Ashley Ballou

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Ballou. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

When I was 17 I got my first job working at In N Out. I was applying for jobs and interviewing for about 8 months feeling so discouraged that no one would hire me. I love to look back and realize it was for the best! In N Out i’d say truly created my love for fast paced environments, and always competing with myself to be better than I was before. I love to take the morals and work ethic I learned there and translate it to my current career as a makeup artist!

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’ve always loved the world of makeup since I was a kid. I was face painting myself at 11 and when I discovered Syfys “Faceoff” at 13 I knew that was EXACTLY what I wanted to do! Now at 27, i’m a full time makeup artist/hair stylist that specializes in the tv/film industry! I love to get on films that have some sort of monster or creature for me to create as well. Custom prosthetics are one of my favorite forms of art. The endless possibilities you have to create whatever you can imagine feels amazing! If i’m not doing full glams for bridal parties/events, or working on set, I will be found in my garage sculpting for my next piece to sell on my Etsy shop! ( Ballou Artistry Productions )

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

One of the most impactful aspects I learned about was imposter syndrome. As an artist it’s so easy to never be satisfied with your work. Doing makeup and monsters is more than a job for me..it’s truly my passion. Feeling that I fell short in some aspect of my art is super hard to overcome. However, hearing that this term has a name, and SO many creatives struggle with it does help to feel less isolating. I don’t think I’ll ever be truly 100% satisfied with what I create…which leads me to my next point!

I try to look at every picture of my work I take and analyze it. What could I have done better? What have I improved from last time? Being in a field where you’re your own boss, it can be hard to get critique on how to improve! I love to pull up photos of the artists I look up to and compare my work with theirs…what’s the differences? This really helped me to elevate my work and continue to feel inspired by amazing people in the same industry as me.

My last point would be having a good attitude. Like I said above, you’ll always be working on getting better in your craft. It’s something that takes time and experience! However something you can do immediately is have a good, positive attitude no matter what. Working on movies can be very stressful with the time constraints, and numerous factors to take in like environmental, shooting sequence etc..
But I feel that your crew will want to bring you back depending on your personality and how pleasant you were to work with…not based on your skill level! I know of artists that were fired because of their poor attitudes even though they were very skilled. As a makeup artist/hair stylist, it’s my job to make people feel comfortable, confident, and to know I will always be watching them to be sure they are looking perfect! Everyone should feel your love radiate on set or wherever you are.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

Something that’s been hard to figure out for years is how to stay busy on the off seasons! Wedding seasons are great, and when I secure a movie I feel great! But there’s always weeks or even months that happen where work is slow. That’s why i’ve been trying to push my Etsy shop online to sell prosthetics and custom pieces that I can do from home anytime. It would definitely give me peace knowing I have some sort of stable income flowing that’s easy to maintain without having to book a movie or book a normal glam session. I also try to do collaborations during this time to meet other creatives, and showcase my work! Currently i’m trying to do collaborations that showcase the items I sell on my Etsy ( Ballou Artistry Productions ). So if you see a prosthetic that inspires you on there, let me know and maybe we can bring it to life!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyballoumua/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/AshleyBallouMUA/
• Other: ETSY:
  https://www.etsy.com/shop/BallouArtistryProd

Image Credits

Photographers:
Edith Wagner @frida_lily_photography
(takes my headshots/protraits featured, alien shoot, purple body paint shoot)

Blue Day @knightlyfocus
(took the red backdrop editorial shoot)

Michael Su @cinedpsu
(took the werewolves group photo)

Studios:
Neon Cowgirl Media @neoncowgirlmedialv

Other Artists:
Chuck O’Brien @obrien77.co
(created werewolves heads)

Tom Devlin @tom_devlins_1313fx
(molded, painted, hair layed werewolves)

Steven Horlock @steven_horlock_art
(body painter for blue alien)

Models/Actors:

Nixxie @vtgnixxie
(blue alien model)

Valerie Wagner @valerie.wagner417
(purple alien model)

Chris Arredondo @chrisdondo
(werewolf)

Steve Hansen @shhansen72
(werewolf)

Ryan Freeman @ryan_freebird
(werewolf)

Michael Keene @mbkeene
(werewolf)

Ana @addictiveanna
(bridal glam)

Symoni Owens @symoniowens
(red backdrop editorial)

Assistants:

Taylor @taysheawest

Aaron Saltzman @saltz_art