In Seattle, Ryan Henry Ward seems to be everywhere. His murals, which feature mythical figures, animals and frolicking creatures, are on the sides of buildings, garage doors, sidewalks – they’re all over! His style is positive, wondrous and smile-inducing. We had the chance to chat with the artist about his work, process and hope for the future.

—Jake Uitti, Managing Editor, The Monarch Review

Jake Uitti: You’ve painted a lot of murals in this city. When you are facing a blank surface – whether canvas, a garage door, a sidewalk – what goes through your mind?

Ryan Henry Ward: I tend to see things as potential. I have a very projective imagination; it’s almost like a hallucination. I see a variety of images shifting around a surface until one just jumps out at me and almost demands that it be painted.

JU: I saw you at the Blue Moon in Seattle painting along to a Wes Sp8 show. How is your process altered by, say, music?

RHW: In my studio I often paint in silence. I’m actually in love with quietude. So when I paint live with music it tends to have a big affect on the work. I really listen to what the music is doing and let it guide my hand. It becomes a dance. When the music flows smoothly so does the brush. When it gets aggressive the brush moves with it altering the life of the painting. I think the musician’s feelings are what show up in the work. I just become a channel.

JU: What has been the biggest surprise for you in your years of painting?

RHW: For me I was always a person who didn’t know what I wanted with my life. Even when I started doing the murals in 2008 I wasn’t convinced this is what id be doing with my life. I guess I’m most surprised at how much I love it. Even if I didn’t get paid for it it’s still what I’d be doing. I actually was a pretty private person with no real art world connections when I started. I’ve really learned to love my roll as a public figure. I just really get a kick out of meeting so many people. I think that finding what I truly love, making public art, and all the aspects that go along with that has been the biggest surprise.

JU: Your style is very storybook-oriented, how did you arrive at this aesthetic?

RHW: In my youth, I drew frame comics. I had a couple different comic strips. In high school I used to publish a single frame comic called, ‘The Cheese Life’, inspired by Gary Larson. In college I studied children’s literature and got really inspired by different children’s book writers. I wanted to go that direction because I loved creative writing. Then somewhere in the process I started turning my sketchbook drawings into paintings and discovered I really liked the feel of a single picture that looked like it was in the middle of a story. I guess I found more satisfaction in leaving it single-framed. I liked the feeling of something being caught in the moment, indicating a story happening but lending that to the imagination of the viewer. My aesthetic has most to do with feeling balance and composition. I’m really trying to strike balances; I want there to be a looseness like Quentin Blake illustrations as well as a rich color pallet like Southern African art.

JU: Do you have a favorite piece? A favorite moment painting?

RHW: I think my favorite piece is the Squid and Diver mural on the back of the Commercial Dive Shop on 15th and 73rd in Ballard. It was intensely challenging, and gave me a big sense of pride to accomplish it. My favorite moment while painting was when a couple of cops on Capitol Hill bum rushed me with Billy clubs while I was finishing up a mural. Right before they attacked I yelled at them to stop. I then asked them to look at the 450-foot long mural and told them I’m almost done painting it. They asked me if I was doing it illegally. I just started to laugh. Yeah, I said, I really didn’t think I’d get caught.

JU: Why was the squid piece so challenging? Also… were you really doing the piece in Capitol Hill illegally??

RHW: The squid was challenging because it was on 3-inch slatted siding. Also it was really difficult to access with a ladder because of a basement stairwell. And there was a lot of external piping. The Capitol Hill mural was commissioned by Lowell Elementary. It was really obvious after they actually looked at it that it was a legit project!

JU: What did they do when they found out it was legal? How do you think they feel seeing your pieces all around the city now?

RHW: They apologized and told me a few people called in vandalism. My first year of doing murals that was a common assumption. Seattle wasn’t used to murals. Now murals have become pretty popular. I enjoy seeing my work around. There’s so many memories tied to each piece. I really enjoy seeing other artists getting walls too. My dream for the city is to have every wall covered with art. There’s room for an endless amount of artists.

JU: Do you name the creatures you’ve painted?

RHW: A couple of them have names like the Quadrapus and the Compassion Wizard, but most are unnamed or just go by the Walrus or Sasquatch or whatever they are. A lot of my characters are self-portraits, like the mountain goats and the walrus. Others have been inspired by people I know like the mermaids on Nickerson were of my friend Holly. And the gnomes on Interbay were of me and my friend Tom inspired by a camping trip we took.

JU: Can you name every place there’s a mural of yours?

RHW: Damn. That’s tough. I could try. Let’s start with about 20 on vehicles – who knows where they are? Most in the wrecking yard, I suppose. I’ve done four in the Dominican Republic. Two in Bellingham, one on a church the other is in a backyard. Sacred heart church in Bellevue, a grade school in Bellevue has a Madhatter Tea Party in their library. A coffee shop and an art gallery in Minneapolis. The triangle lounge had two. The Unicorn on Leary, which is now down. The front and the backside of the warehouse on 15th just off the bridge, those are down now too. The gnomes on Interbay, the Sloop tavern has two, Sip and Ship in Ballard, Axis Automotive in Ballard, Adams Elementary, Lowell Elementary has four. West Woodlawn Elementary, a grade school on MLK has two. A high school in Lynnwood. The Way Station has three in Frelard. Emerald City Gardens in Frelard. Automotive Place on 8th and Leary, Walrus Fence on 8th. Camel Mural on 8th. Gnome and Butterfly on 8th. On Fremont Ave, there’s a sasquatch mural a block up from Essential Bakery in Fremont. Another one a few blocks up from that. Johnny Cash on a garage in Georgetown. The Georgetown morgue. Value Village in Crown Hill, there used to be one across from Ballard High School, there used to be one on Walt’s Automotive in Wallingford. 50th and University there’s a witch and teddy bear. Room 108 in the City Hostel Seattle. I just did a couple in a bar on First and Wall. That fancy sandwich shop across from Blue C Sushi in Fremont has a couple in their bathrooms. The swirl cafe on Queen Anne, Nickerson across the Fremont bridge has three on that building, just down the road from that on a K9 Training Place. Nifty Toy and Gift in Magnolia. The Veterinary place on Interbay has 11 murals. There’s a Jerry Garcia mural on 70th in Ballard. A daycare has one on Market St. I did two murals for Kids Co. in Ballard. The commercial dive shop on 15th and 73rd. The Bit used to have one. The entrance to the Loft on Capitol Hill just upstairs from the Annex Theatre. Naked City Brewery in Greenwood has two. One down the alley from the Buddhist Monastery in Greenwood. Two down an alley off of 80th in Crown Hill. There’s a beaver mural on 85th across from Walgreens. The episcopal bookstore on Stone Way. There used to be dancing turtles on a chiropractic building off Stone Way. Stone Soup Theatre had one for a short bit. There’s one on Rainier Ave., the Porterhouse in West Seattle, 4th Ave in Sodo has a kid riding a fish and my biggest one, the 8 Buddhas. I did another Value Village has 3. I’ve done quite a few private residences but will keep those private, like kids rooms and nurseries, game rooms and hallways and swimming pools. That’s the best I can do for now. Including vehicles and private residences, my current count is 143 in Seattle.

JU: What’s the bit of this life of yours being a prolific artist that you won’t ever lose?

RHW: That’s really hard to say. There’s been a couple of times where I felt like I lost it all including my sanity, times when I felt dried up and the creative faucet wasn’t able to turn on. I feel like it could all be taken from me. I try to approach what I do with love and humility and hope that I don’t lose any of it. In my ideal future, I will keep creating and following my inner vision.