About the Artist: Jeremy Ball
Jeremy is a Lompoc native who moved back to the area in 2012. He’s always had an ear for music. Growing up, he played piano and was involved in his fair share of garage bands bouncing between keyboard, guitar, drums and vocals. In a way, photography is in his blood. His grandparents owned a studio capturing traditional portraits and weddings. While he had no interest in photography growing up (assuming it was all limited to awkward school portraits and bridal parties), one of his first jobs was retouching photos in a camera shop. He finally picked up the camera in 2007 when he was invited to document health and sanitation efforts in rural Africa. Capturing the human story is ultimately what hooked him. Jeremy worked for many years in fine dining which immersed him in the local wine and food culture. He dabbled in photo shoots with restaurants, tourist organizations and wineries to carefully to carve out his niche for photography. In 2010, Jeremy and his wife, Michelle, founded Bottle Branding — a media company that offers photography, film production and design services primarily for the wine and food industries. Today, he is a widely published photographer whose work has appeared in national publications including The Somm Journal, The Tasting Panel Magazine, Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. Diana and Rick Longoria were one of Jeremy’s very first clients and he is honored to create the artwork for this year’s Blues Cuvée. Visit Jeremy’s website at Bottle Branding.
Leonardo lives and works in Lompoc, California. For many years he has volunteered his time with the California Youth Authority at the Los Prietos Boys Camp.
Leonardo also speaks and conducts workshops on a variety of topics, from printmaking and the art of the mural, to color theory and specific mediums, such as acrylics.From the etching of small copper plates used to produce a series of prints depicting the California missions, to murals eighty feet wide, such as the Randolph Mansion mural located in Lompoc, Leonardo moves easily between mediums.
He has also produced an extensive series of the homeless he has met at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles. Leonardo’s Homeless Series covers a wide range of mediums including, oils, acrylics, linoleum cuts, and copper plate etchings.
What is most remarkable about this artist is his ability to maintain a high degree of craftsmanship, no matter what medium or form he is working in. The fusion of art and craft is something not easily found these days.
Visit Leonardo’s website at 
