The Paleo Art of Josh Ballze

07/13/2026

This one hurts. Sam Neill and the character of Alan Grant very much revived my fascination of Dinosaurs in 93 which has since blossomed into a career making museum and paleo art. Will definitely be watching JP with a heavier heart. Rest in peace Sam~

Sam Neill~

We are at a loss for words, and yet there's so much to say about the legacy Sam left behind. Sam brought to life an anchor for us in this rather incredible film about genetic tampering, cloning extinct animals, bringing dinosaurs back to life. Amid it all, we had Sam play this sort of fish out of water scientist. But we could relate with him, because we were him, we felt the same emotions he felt when seeing a giant sauropod thunder across the hills. We smiled with him as he eagerly embraced his childhood favorite dinosaur, the Triceratops. We watched in horror and awe as he witnessed one of the greatest land predators roar into the storm. We cowered with him at science unleashed in the form of raptors. We all felt those same emotions with him, his journey was ours.

The character Sam played in Alan Grant left a lasting legacy Sam was able to witness within his lifetime. He made science cool again. His character brought about four generations of Paleontologists, from Gen X to Gen Z Alan Grant very much spear headed the Dinosaur Revolution of the 90's. In our 14 years doing exhibits and pop up shows, we encounter countless Paleontologists, Museum Staff, Gallery Interpreters, Lab Workers, Field Workers, and so many more wonderful souls who were inspired by this man. Inspired by Alan's journey. Sam, and Alan's legacy cannot easily be measured by this single character, let alone the countless other films and TV shows Sam starred in. The world is a little less brighter today, but the light Sam spread across our humble world reaches horizon to horizon.

Thank you Sam, for teaching us. We will keep those lessons close.
-JPX

03/11/2026

Me posing with the finished painting next to the surviving cliff dwellings at Montezuma Castle National Park. Was a great opportunity to work with the Parks Department and the Dept of the Interior.

02/20/2026

The concept pen sketch done when I started pitching the cover art to the Editor in Chief last year back in August. This was funny enough a last minute concept I just drew to pitch with a few other sketches so the client had a variety of options for the cover art. Sure enough the last art piece I pitched was the one he ended up picking for the cover haha. It was a very strong composition and concept however and even turned out better then I thought it would when I just started scribbling onto my sketch pad. I did have to tweak it a bit to allow for more room and space for things like title treatment, call outs, bar code placement and other things. Still, its a great pen sketch which lead to an even more fun painting and cover art.
-Josh

02/15/2026

Magazine Cover Concept 3

This was the last color concept presented to the Editor and Chief for the magazine. The shark I chose for this concept was Onchopristus which I wanted to showcase as an animal and not just Spinosaurus food. Though, I did add a Spinosaurus in the background if only to address the food chain active in Egypt during the Cretaceous. Onchopristus was a fun animal though with distinct morphological characteristics like spiny osteoderms and hooked or barbed teeth along the rostrum. I also had run referencing other species like carpet sharks and Wobbegong colorations and patterns with the animal to make it pop more against the blue backgrounds but still give this wild looking creature a sense that yes, it was a real creature. This nearly was the magazine cover and was a second choice before the Editor and Chief picked the Xenacanthus cover art.
-Josh

02/14/2026

What I would like to hear from SVP right now:

"On administrative leave/suspended pending further investigation."

So disappointed by all of this. I try to vet people I myself work with and when they become problematic in any capacity, I will drop them as a client. It's tedious, its hard, and yes people can and do slip through the cracks. But at least I try, which I think is all alot of us are asking of these clubs and institutions right now. And the actions and statement above, is the very bare minimum they can offer.

Just so disappointed.

But yeah, I'll be sure to post more art and other things here soon, its just been alot to navigate these past few months. Gonna take a short break for this migraine. But to those of you who are still fighting, for Civil Rights, Against ICE, For the Preservation of our Parks Dept and Public Lands, For Conservation across all ecosystems, and to end this nightmare that is the Trump Administration, and now the shocking revelations on the heels of the Ep$tein files, I stand with you all.

Send a message to learn more

01/06/2026

Magazine Cover Concept 2

This was another concept presented to the Editor and Chief of the magazine for the cover. The shark chosen (And was my personal fave) was Dracopristus, a new prehistoric shark discovered very recently with giant horns on its fins (The largest of any shark species relative to body size). Because of these giant horns the holotype fossil for Dracopristus was affectionately nicknamed Godzilla prior to formal naming and description. This scene was to depict the animal chasing small prey in the prehistoric seas of New Mexico.

This was a digital painting done over a traditional pen sketch that if approved would be translated into a traditional painting. I might revisit this piece and do the actual painting down the road as it was my fave of the concept art presented for the cover.
-Josh

12/23/2025

My cover art on the newest issue of "Prehistoric Times" is out on magazine stands! Be sure to visit your local Barnes and Nobel or where magazines are sold and ask if they carry PT Magazine to get your copy today!

This was a break neck deadline and a fun challenge to try to paint a cover in three days! Thankfully my Hollywood training kicked in and I was able to meet the challenge.

The subject was sharks, of which I offered the Editor in Chief four cover concepts with three different prehistoric shark species. Ultimately this composition of Xenacanthus being chased by a large Dimetrodon was chosen for the final cover. I then set to work making color comps and mixing paint. Ultimately, I channeled alot of Wayne Barlow into this one as it has an almost animated feel to it without sacrificing the realism of the scene. It had been a while since I had done an underwater piece so it was great re-learning those techniques and capturing the movement of the water itself. If you look closely you will even spy a Diplocaulus being chased by the Xenacanthus, a true circle of life.

The scene is based on fossil sites found in Permian TX where Dimetrodon teeth have been found among Xenacanthus remains in shallow inland seas akin to contemporary Mangrove swamps found in North America. Thanks to all the staff at PT Magazine for hosting me on the cover again!
-Josh

12/16/2025