Who is Ursaboy?

Biography-

Ursaboy (born Kyle Ballew, 2002) is an artist from San Antonio, Texas. What began in 2020 as a Minecraft YouTube channel eventually evolved into a creative identity spanning video, TikTok, and fine art, especially painting. Now based in San Marcos, he is completing a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in painting at Texas State University (Dec 2025). He has always created from the heart, resulting in his conversion to his Catholic Faith having evidence of its process all over his art. He will be confirmed Catholic in April 2026.

In 2024, he was awarded a merit prize in the TXST Student Juried Exhibition. Through his art and testimony, Ursaboy seeks to serve God’s kingdom on Earth.

Artist’s Statement-

‘Ursaboy’ began in 2020 as a Minecraft YouTube channel, I never imagined it would become the identity through which I’d discover my voice as an artist. What started as playful online creation gradually transformed into something deeper: a pursuit of truth, vulnerability, and spiritual expression through fine art and TikTok videos. Ursaboy has evolved into a personal mission where my creative process, and conversion process, my Catholic faith- are inseparable.

I work almost entirely in acrylic when I paint, often using palette knives to build raw, layered surfaces. Similarly, I use minimal editing or effects in my videos, to speak to the spirit with authenticity and without filters. I rarely begin with a finished image in mind. Instead, I lean into uncertainty, trusting the act of creating itself — guided by intuition, memory, prayer, and faith. I am deeply influenced by sports, movies, comedy, and the internet, filtered through the lens of modern masculinity and spiritual yearning. The result is a mix of chaos and clarity, a visual language that wrestles with the contradictions of being young, alive, and searching.

I create to understand and to testify. Every canvas is both a confession and a construction site, a place where my hands work out what my heart is trying to say. As my walk with Christ deepens, my art has become a form of worship and witness: bold, imperfect, and honest. It’s my way of offering something true back to the world. It is inherently always self-expression, but I see every work as a prayer, a collaboration with my creator, and a parable that just might connect him and you in some unexpected way.

Artist CV

Education-

Texas State Bachelor of Fine Arts with Concentration in Painting Fall 2025

(in progress)

Showings-

TXST 2024 Student Juried Exhibition - Merit Award Winner

TXST advanced painting hallway show Spring ‘24

TXST advanced painting hallway show Summer ‘24

All That We Are Group Exhibition, Dunbar Rec Center, San Marcos TX, April ‘25

Accomplishments-

TXST College of Fine Arts & Communication Council of Scholars Inductee 2025

Sold multiple paintings at Ursaboy.com and TikTok Shop