Artist Ryan Henry Ward is trying to paint 50 murals in different neighborhoods in Seattle. He recently told MyBallard he’s doing it to get his name out there, as well as discourage graffiti. Here’s one he did earlier this week at the corner of 8th Avenue NW and NW 67th Street.
And you can see a shot here of Ward painting it.
If you like his work, you can see his paintings at the Orange Splot Gallery in Fremont. And if you’d like to contact him about a mural, e-mail him at ryan@lucibelle.com.
18 responses so far ↓
1 chandler walker // Aug 23, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Wow, this guy is the coolest thing seattle has seen since kurt cobain. I hope he does up the greenwood neighborhood. I wonder if anyone owns originals of his canvas works. those are going to be worth millions if he keeps painting like this. 8th and 67th is the best thing I’ve ever seen. Has anyone seen his jungle mural on the back of emerald city gardens. Its on leary and 40th close to his famous unicorn mural. Rumor has it that hes got some time lapse photography of that. Also rumors are hes going to paint the outside of the Bit Salloon soon and an elementary school on capital hill. I hope he decides to do more than 50 in seattle. Im just getting warmed up to this guy. What a beautiful human being.
2 chandler walker // Aug 23, 2008 at 5:08 pm
oh, I saw him on king five like 5 times. Also saw him on mynorthwest.com.
3 susan // Aug 23, 2008 at 5:51 pm
my children love his art. we go looking for his new ones now. my 13 year old boy loved his new one on 8th. So did my mother in law and shes usually super conservative. she hates his war no more painting by the ballard bridge. She says it threatens her security. She wants to see an american flag and an eagle. I think hes more of the no slave labor type. Anyway, I love henry and so does every one I know. does he have his own website or myspace? Ive got a huge wall on highway 99 and am willing to pay him well.
4 Dale // Aug 24, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Susan, try his e-mail address: ryan@lucibelle.com.
5 roger // Aug 25, 2008 at 11:52 am
I heard someone just offered him 200,000 dollars for his 50th mural and he said hed rather see that money donated to help rebuild new orleans. who is this guy, and why does he have those huge body guards now?
6 Nathan // Dec 12, 2008 at 11:36 am
I live right around the corner from the 8th Street mural and in spite of what seems to be favorable reviews I hate this monstrosity. First I think that this and all the other Henry murals I have seen around the area are artistically not very good and not very interesting. Second, in the case of the 8th Street mural it in no way shape or form works with the aesthetic of the neighborhood or the street it is on. It stands out like a sore thumb.
7 jack // May 3, 2009 at 1:34 pm
nathan is obviously a complete idiot.
8 Jeff // May 21, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I have seen these around too. They are horrible. At least graffitti actually has something to say. These are just mindless. I would take plain cement over these any day. And with the “henry” logo they are just a comercial as a billboard for pepsi.
9 jill // May 26, 2009 at 8:27 pm
really jeff?
10 jill // May 28, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Jeff is an idiot. henry’s murals say everythingthat needs to be said visually. how could you compare an artists signature to a pepsi logo? Maybe they shouldnt let complete idiots like jeff write on these blogs. Get an education and you might see that henry is leading the art world in a new dirrection. Get off your high brow soap box. This is art that people actually enjoy. Kids even love it. People like Jeff usually have n0 art skills themselves and try to appear that they are so intelligent when actually they are just jealous fools.
11 nalyd // Aug 16, 2009 at 12:48 am
Jill, I have an arts education, I’ve been an artist my entire life, and I say you’re being more than slightly inflammatory. What are his paintings saying, really? That’s not a signature, it’s a logo, and it’s huge, and in contrast to the rest of the work, in order to stand out. Henry isn’t leading the art world in a new direction. this guy is doing the same thing people have been doing for centuries, and doing it poorly. he’s doing it in Seattle, and guess what, Seattle has absolutely no art scene worth mentioning. This art walk crap is a joke, every time. This place is small-time. So why don’t you take a minute to think about it. Yeah, his intention is good, and he sounds like a kinda cool guy. his work is bad. the reason his gallery owner and everyone buys his work is because it’s all under 50 bucks, or free. kids like it because it’s flashy and cute. but it’s shallow crap. So please, don’t bash people, because you have no clue wtf you’re talking about. It’s bad.
12 harold // Aug 23, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Nalyd,
the problem with seattle isnt its lack of art, its more its ability to see everything as negative. Its so easy to hate. I am an art proffesor and have been for 15 years. In my opinion Ryan Ward shows a tremendous amount of depth in his work. He obviously is striking balances of good and evil and his use of color is brilliandtand confident. Using a big signature is actually appropriate for street art. Most street art is only people’s signature. If there is one specific mural you dont like I will break down the historical relevance, its “deeper” meaning and can tell you exactly why Ryan Ward is a pure genius and is leading painting. His bold confident brush strokes with primitive iconic and geometric ballance is not only fun. (God forbid art being fun) Im not sure who educated you in art but Im sure you heard many times that painting is a dead art form. Well it is being brought to life in a way that is meaningful for thousands of people. Is there a paiter you know that is approaching art out side of acadamia in a way that henry is not? So, would you please stae your credentials because I feel that you know very little about art and its true “meaning”. I personally have 2 phd’s in art history and sociology. and by all means know what I am talking about.
13 nalyd // Aug 28, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Actually I never believed that painting was dead… Nor was that belief very well upheld in my education. I like “fun art,” too, but I like it better when it’s GOOD art. And Personally I have to disagree with you. He paints fish, lawn gnomes, and goats, define deep in this context. A big signature is one thing, but the placement is not conducive to looking at the work, it just makes you look at his name. Because it’s huge, and red, and circled. Graffiti is different. you’ll never see a good street artist do a piece, then paste his name and phone number right in the middle of it with 2′ tall letters, he/she wouldn’t last too terribly long. And besides, most street art serves a different function for the artist. Good and evil? Excuse me? and since when is that a deep subject matter anyhow: It’s the cornerstone of mainstream entertainment, at best. Infinitely entertaining, and shallow. And if you’ve ever gotten close to one of these things you can see, his color is average, not confident at all. He has no identity in his line. Who the hell is looking to HENRY in the greater context of art around the world? I want to know. He’s just a dude, painting stuff around town. I’m not hating, I like the idea, I’m just saying it doesn’t need to be glorified and it doesn’t need to be EVERYWHERE. I’m not really phased by the fact that you have two PHD’s, nor am I surprised. Out of the several professors I’ve spoken with and worked with, I’ve experienced that many of those most out of touch with reality are extremely well educated. If you want to talk to someone about “hating” get a hold of this Jill person and tell her that randomly calling people idiots on the internet because they don’t like Henry is bullshit. And your inference that I have no credentials because I don’t like Henry is also bullshit. Fall in love with Henry, I don’t care. You can have him paint your dining room. I don’t like it, and I don’t want it everywhere I look. I’m done with this subject.
14 samuel // Aug 30, 2009 at 10:49 am
not everyone likes henry but most people do. why do people log onto blogs about him and write how much they dispise his work? most people that do this are, Im guessing from a life time of experience, very uncreative. I doubt henry logs onto blogs about other artists and says all the things he doesnt like about them. Why? because his time is spent being creative. When someone is living the creative life they dont hate or have the time to dislike what other artists are doing. Critics most often are not in touch with their creative side. I’ve been a member of planet earth for 67 years and have found this to be true 99 percent of the time. truely good artists dont critisize other artists. So if you hear critiques you can assume that the person is just struggling inside themselves. Artists that produce large bodies of work intimidate these sorts of people because they havent opened themselves up to what it takes. Once opened up to the creative process, the mind is to busy adding to the world more beautiful things. Henry, If you read this, youre creative energies are appreciated by most people. Dont let your haters destroy you. YOu have a very unique voice and are encouraging the creative proccess in many people. Critics like Nadyl do nothing to increase the power of art within the souls of people. She just takes it away because she herself is scared and it has been taken away from her. She should try producing 53 pieces of publicly displayed art and we can all see what an amzing soul she is. (she would have to do it in a year for it to be equivelent.) Im sure shes up for the challenge other wise she should keep her mouth shut.
15 niki // Sep 7, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Henry is a great guy with positive cheerful art that makes some people happy , Henry ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
16 Mark // Apr 6, 2010 at 9:59 pm
I love the Henry paintings and hope to see as many as I can in person. There’s one on Capitol Hill at the elementary school and I’ve seen one near the Fremont Bridge.
17 Teddy // Apr 14, 2010 at 11:11 am
If you like henrys work so much then you will be very pleased to hear that there are plenty of children’s books out there that you can analyze and maybe even rip the pages out and frame them on your wall?
18 Teddy // Apr 14, 2010 at 11:17 am
oh and his work is half ass
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