Michael Ward
There is a grace to the ordinary world we live in that we often overlook. My paintings, based on photos of that ordinary world, are a way for me to discover that grace through the close observation required to render the images in paint. The overlooked is seen, the mundane reveals its beauty, the grace is made manifest.
The source images for my paintings are as recent as the year, as old as half a century when I first started seeing. Getting them on canvas allows me to relive those ephemeral moments, to uncover mysteries, to truly know what I once only glanced at. Making these paintings opens my eyes, and heart, to the grace.
My influences include Vermeer, Charles Sheeler, Richard Estes, Robert Bechtle, and Richard Diebenkorn. As a painter, I am self-taught.