Mark Ward

Mark Ward follows in the great artistic tradition of landscape painting. He does not, however, paint on location. Like generations before him, the scenes are created in miniature in the studio. Yet where Gainsborough would have used found twigs and mosses to compose his backdrops, Ward constructs his from paper, plasticine, string, buttons, pipe-cleaners and other studio materials. Immaculately composed and exquisitely painted in a Hyperrealist manner, the models allow Ward accurately to capture light and shadow whilst adding an exuberantly surreal aspect to these natural vistas.

Ward’s use of strong primary and secondary colors with distinct patterns links back to his time spent living and teaching in Kenya. Bridging his connection to the landscape and his childhood imaginings of ‘Africa’, his paintings connect not with a photo-realist notion of the places, but the impressions they left. A photograph can obscure the experience of a time and location, leaving an impoverished impression. Ward’s paintings offer us a vibrant homecoming. Mark Ward currently lives and works in Suffolk, England.