A Sydney based artist, Richard Ward has been painting and drawing since high school. After a short career as a pilot in the RAAF, that literally gave him a bird’s eye view of the Australian landscape, he trained in painting and drawing at the University of NSW College of Fine Art, graduating with a Master of Art in 1994.
Richard works in acrylic and mixed media in two styles. His traditional scenes of the Australian landscape are inspired by luminaries such as William Delafield Cook and Brian Westwood. These paintings are his “therapy”, relaxing and calming to paint and relaxing and calming to look at. Many are of the east coast of Tasmania where he spends at least a couple of months every year.
He also likes to construct more eclectic images, built up from sketches and ideas collected on his travels in a style inspired by the art of John Wolseley, Guy Warren and Brett Whiteley, among others. These works are more difficult to make and can be a bit hit and miss. But the good ones are always intriguing and will reward repeated viewing.
Richard’s work features in many corporate and private collections throughout Australia.