Arrive Magazine May/June 2008

 

T R ENDS E T T E R

Tim Ward

Brush with Fame

By Leigh Flayton

 

Painter Tim Ward is making a name

for himself in the art world the old-fashioned

way—by hoofing it. Eschewing

the gallery route, he’s opted instead for

shows at friends’ homes, and as a result

he’s built an international clientele, with

commissions coming from clients in the

U.S., Ireland and Sweden. But it’s happened

somewhat by accident.

“It wasn’t a particularly conscious

decision,” he says. “A friend got a new

place and we put on a show at his house.

All these people turned up, really liking

it. I sold a few things. Ever since then

I’ve gone that way.”

Ward works in several media,

including 3-D and drawings, and he

recently completed a series of paintings

about “the beauty of the Arctic,” he says,

“and the predicament mankind faces as

it slowly melts away.”

Fortunately, Ward is no stranger to

attention. After studying painting in

art school, the English native became

the lead singer of a London-based band

called Elevate—but only because his

mates played guitar and he didn’t know

an instrument. The group attracted

a following, toured Europe and, yes,

became particularly “huge” in a certain

small, central European country.

“We were rather large in Belgium,”

he jokes.

The band dissolved and Ward married,

moved to Brooklyn and worked

on the 11-story mural that conceptual

artist Sol LeWitt created for Manhattan’s

Embassy Suites hotel in 2000. It

was just a job, he says, but it inspired

him to start painting again.

“I couldn’t remember why I didn’t

paint anymore,” he says, admitting he

was struck by the large-scale fabrication,

scope and professionalism of the project.

“I always had a dreamy notion of what

being an artist was. It was like a 6-yearold’s

idea. … Now I’m about 9.”

tbward.com

 

 

 

Arrıve • May/June 2008