Hello and thanks for visiting.
The images you will find here are a rendering of Abstract
Expressionist applications of paint and brushstrokes to
create Veristic Surrealist landscapes that ooze from the
canvas with aesthetic organic form, saturated in exuberant
colour. Sometimes showing Automatist qualities in larger
pieces, I have experimented with various techniques to
create paintings that capture the viewer's eye and give them
a place to visit away from this world of mutual destruction.
These paintings, although sometimes different in method
and appearance, share the same fundamental purpose. By
providing a spiritual or aesthetically beautiful experience,
I am paying homage to spontaneity in nature.
I aim to bring unique images of our natural world and
beyond to life, to remind us that we will not be here
forever and that we must cherish what we have got.
The artwork I have on display in this website is a result of a combination of influences I have acquired over the years. Here, you will also find traditional fine art, that I was introduced to at an early age, dark and macabre illustrations depicting a bleak human nature and a design section that combines my original methods of painting and drawing with digital manipulation.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GET IN TOUCH VIA THE CONTACT PAGE IF YOU WISH TO PURCHASE/EXHIBIT ANY AVAILABLE ARTWORK FROM THE GALLERY. I AM ALSO AVAILABLE FOR COMMISSIONED PIECES AND DESIGNS.
THANK YOU.
FEEDBACK IS ALSO APPRECIATED.
03/01/10
ENERGY ART SALON 2010- CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA
I am pleased to be a part of the 'Energy Art Salon 2010' which opens on the 15th Jan to Feb 25th 2010 at the Murphy Hill Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The exhibition is part of the 'Energy Art Movement' and the 'We Are Connected Project' and will feature the finest in energetic art today.
Murphy Hill Gallery
3rd Flr, 3333 W Arthington St, Chicago, USA
Exhibition duration: Jan. 15 - Feb. 25, 2010
Reception: Jan. 16, noon - 11 pm
For further info on the exhibition and the 'Energy Art Movement' visit-
15/11/09 WARDARTZ IN JAPAN-
Every now and again something puts a smile on my face and this was pretty special. Last month I received an email from a high school teacher in Sapporo, Japan who wished to use one of my paintings 'Not too late' as a mural design for their school festival. The theme this year was 'Think and act for the environment' and 600 students of Hokusei Gakuen Girls' High School were to recreate the image of wind turbines and display it on the wall of their school.
Yesterday I received an email back from Moemi their teacher with an attachment photo of the finished piece. I have to say I was absolutely gobsmacked at the result. Take a look for yourself then compare it with the original from the link above.
I want to say a big thank you to Moemi, the three members of the student council (pictured above) who were in charge of making the mural and ALL of the 600 students involved. I'm very impressed at not just the size of the mural but the accuracy and detail also. Clearly a lot of artistic talent in that school. Well done all of you and keep up the good work!
01/08/09 LOGO DESIGNS-
Besides painting and drawing I also enjoy creating logo, t-shirt and inlay designs for bands and as I have played bass myself for many years I have a good idea of what most bands can spend on this area. Usually not much!
So recently I have being doing my bit to help by producing high quality work at a low cost. I mostly combine my own original artwork with design software to create designs that have just that little bit extra.
Undoubtedly the music is the most important aspect of any band but interesting artwork can mean the difference between someone lifting your CD off a shelf or passing it by. So any bands out there, if your interested,
get in touch.
Here's some examples of recent designs...
These and more work can be found in the design section of the gallery.
20/06/09 EXHIBITION NEWS- CANADA.
GREEN ENERGY PROJECT UPDATE-
- Its taken me quite a while to exhibit out of Ireland, although I have had a few offers I couldn't afford it due to the cost of shipping etc.
So I'm very pleased to be part of an exhibition at the Sunrise Gallery, in Ontario, Canada. This exhibition is part of the 'Green Energy Project' and the 'Energy Art Movement' and opens on July 11th and continues to August 2nd.
Details on the 'Energy Art Movement' and the painting to be exhibited can be found below.
10/06/09 EXHIBITION NEWS.
As part of the Eigse Festival 2009 in Carlow, Artforms Gallery is holding an exhibition opening on the 13th June and running for one month. I have included some of my older work in this show (above) plus I hope to display some new pieces here in the summer.
01/03/09 EXHIBITION NEWS.
I will have two traditional pieces included in an exhibition at the ICS Software building in Belfast this week which are available to view until the end of May 2009. The exhibition is organised by the 'Vent' art collective. Thanks to Colin for the invite to exhibit.
10/01/09 ENERGY ART MOVEMENT.
I was contacted by a group of artists after summer 2008 and asked to participate as a new member in this art movement, which has members from all across the globe.
The Energy Art Movement was launched in May of 2008 by a group of artists collectively interested in raising the standards of artistic expression.
To learn more about the movement and its principles please visit
This painting was done for the 'Energy Art Movement' as part of the 'Green Energy Project' which hopes to help promote renewable sources of energy and raise public awareness on global warming. The movement has been in contact with the UN recently to discuss a potential collaboration which may consequently result in an exhibition for the project's participants.
The pictures will be unveiled online on March 20 which is Earth Day.
More information on this will be available here and on energyartmovement.org.
01/12/08 EXHIBITION NEWS.
Several paintings of mine shall be included in a Winter exhibition at the central bank in Dame Street, Dublin as part of the Access to Arts gallery located in the Design Tower, Trinity Centre, Dublin. The show starts on the 15th December and will run to early Spring 2009.
10/11/08 EXHIBITION NEWS.
ARTFORMS GALLERY CHRISTMAS SHOW
Charlotte Street, Carlow.
I will be exhibiting some paintings at the Artforms Christmas exhibition that opens Friday 14th November 2008 at 7.30pm.
Mulled wine, food and music by Niall Toner and Band, so come along and pick up that perfect gift for xmas.
16/09/08 COMMISSIONED WORK.
After moving house and having my studio at home I have had a lot more time to except commissioned work. Requests for memorable/sentimental scenic photos to be painted in the style of work found in my surreal landscape section have started to flood in and make a special and unique gift. I dont charge a fortune either.
Here is an example of a commissioned piece I completed recently. It was referenced from a photo of a bullet ridden Buddhist temple in Cambodia. This was a scene from a couple's honeymoon there and is now preserved in an unique oil painting on their wall for many years to come.
Visit my contact page and get in touch if you have any requests and would like a quote.
Thanks.
FOR FULLVIEW CLICK HERE
07/08/08 New pics added to'Traditional' section!
After moving house I have finally got connected with internet at home again. I have uploaded some new pictures of older works to my gallery. Make sure to have a look.
Cheers!
01/ 07/ 08- EXHIBITION NEWS.
Traditional Landscapes on Exhibition-
As I have recently moved to Carlow, I was fortunate enough to be included in time for 'Artform's 1st Annual Summer Exhibition'. The gallery is situated in Charlotte Street and is a bright and uplifting exhibition space showcasing talent from across Ireland and providing artist workshops in various crafts.
The exhibition opens on Jul 3rd and runs until Jul 22nd, 2008
Here is a link to their website-
http://www.artformsgallery.ie/
11/06/08- EXHIBITION NEWS.
I have been very busy lately, as I am moving house soon, but I was fortunate enough to make it down to The Potthouse today for a few hours.
Here's why...
" The Potthouse located in the bustling Cathedral Quarter in Belfast is unveiling 'Urban Playground' an art exhibition of urban inspiration, in their Sugar Room Nightclub Thursday 12th June 2008.
Featuring
Belfast City Breakers
Movida Corona World DJing Champion Mark Cowan
A group of over 20 artists have transformed the ‘Sugar Room’ nightclub on the first floor of the Potthouse Bar & Restaurant in the bustling Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. Raw creativity has been unleashed by local artists literally all over the club, culminating in a visually stunning exhibition – imaginative paintings, stencils and spray paint masterpieces on the floors, doors, walls, ceilings… everywhere! It has to be seen to be believed. So join us this Thursday to celebrate this unique showcase of local talent and creativity."
URBAN PLAYGROUND
GRAND OPENING
@ POTTHOUSE
9pm, Thursday 12th June 2008
1 Hill St
Belfast, BT1 2LB
Many artists have been working very hard for weeks in the club and there is some excellent work to show for it. I just fancied leaving something in Belfast before I left. So I got my ass over there after work.Here's my few hours effort before it got too dark up there!
28/04/08- EXHIBITION NEWS.
CATHEDRAL QUARTER ARTS
FESTIVAL.
1st -11th May
ARTIST'S EXPOSURE EXHIBITION-
SAFEHOUSE GALLERY
I was pleased to be asked to participate in an unique exhibition
as part of the C.Q.A.F. this year. Myself and four other artists from
Northern Ireland were asked to each start, and finish painting a canvas, so that the end result would produce five paintings that each artist had helped create.
All five canvases are to be exhibited in the Safehouse Gallery
(mentioned below) and any profits made are to be donated to the Royal Victoria Hospital's Children's Cancer Unit.
Along with the canvases, a series a photographs are also been exhibited together with a film showing each painting come to life.
The show opens at 7pm on Thursday 1st May and and is well worth a look.
07/03/08- EXHIBITION NEWS.
Thanks to all who made it to this show. Some of this work may be exhibited in Dublin in the near future. I will keep you updated on any exhibitions on this site.
01/03/08- DESIGN SECTION ADDED TO WARDARTZ.COM
Recently my website has undergone some changes to include some subsections to my gallery. This means that I can keep the varied styles of contemporary art seperate and also include a design section as well.
This is an area of art that I have just ventured into recently and I hope to add more to it soon. I am available for flyer or poster designs, t-shirt or logo designs or inlay artwork and design. Have a look and if you are interested in discussing any ideas and need a quote, give me a shout through the contact page.
Cheers.
10/02/08- New pics added!
I have added some new artwork that was exhibited in the John Hewitt last November. Thank you to all who attended the opening night and extra thanks those who bought a painting. I really appreciate it and I hope you all enjoy your very own N J.Ward original!
16/08/08- wardartz.com featured in ABRASION e- magazine
Some of the darker side of wardartz has been featured in the first issue of Turkish Graphic Arts e-magazine 'ABRASION'.
Here is the link to the 1st issue. (takes a while to download but is a great looking mag).
Abrasion Magazine Online
abrasionmagazine.deviantart.com
WARNING!!!! I recently discovered the official website has being hacked and spammed by a bloody awful website. Please follow the link above to the deviant art page but do not click on any links to the mag until this is sorted. Apologies to any who have already. (30/06/09)
10/01/08- Photos from John Hewitt Exhibition 2007
A few photos of some of the paintings in the Hewitt last November.
15/12/07- Group Show in Safehouse Gallery
As I am a member of the Safehouse Gallery artist's collective, I have included one of my paintings in the Christmas group exhibition which opens 17/12/07 at 7pm.
This exhibition continues until 06/02/08 and contains some fantastic work by talented artists from Belfast and beyond. The gallery is located on 25 Lower Donegal St, Belfast so why not call in if your in the area. Opening hours are 11am- 3.30pm Mon-Thurs and 11am- 2pm on fridays. UPDATE- I was pleased to hear that the painting' Every Corner' that will be added to this site soon, was sold within the first half hour of the show opening. Nice.
11/12/07 - New pics added!
I have updated the site with some earlier artwork from 2000 and some recent work from this year.
06/11/07 - Exhibition.
I will hold the open night for an exhibition of both traditional & contemporary art in ‘The John Hewitt’ on the 12th of November 2007.
It is a bar on Lower Donegal Street in Belfast that exhibits a different artist every month. The only place I know that doesn’t take a percentage of what you sell. Fantastic idea!
The show opens at 7pm – 9pm but will be there to see until the 5th December 2007. It will feature some new paintings that I hope to add to the site very soon. So come along if you’re in the area.
Cheers!
