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Murals popping up around Ballard, Fremont

Posted by Geeky Swedes on August 12th, 2008

You may have seen one of the new murals appearing around the neighborhood over the last three weeks, like this one on 45th and Leary.

There’s also one at 15th and Holman Road. On the Triangle Lounge in Fremont. At the Episcopal Bookstore along Stone Way. At Walt’s Automotive on 45th in Wallingford. One in Sodo. And this one on 49th, just east of the Ballard Bridge.

It’s all the work of talented artist Ryan Henry Ward, who took a quick break from his work to pose in front of his latest mural. He said he would whip up a mural for just about any business that asked for one. And in many cases, he’s doing it for free. (Although he said the Triangle paid him in beer.) “We think it looks terrific and brightens the commercial portion of our street,” writes John from the Episcopal Bookstore. (See photos of that mural here.)

When we caught up with Ward, he was even painting a mural on this truck. He said he’s doing it to get his name out there, as well as discourage graffiti. If you like Ward’s work, you can see his paintings at the Orange Splot Gallery in Fremont. And if you’d like to contact him about a mural, email him at ryan@lucibelle.com. After all, Ward says his goal is to paint 50 murals in different neighborhoods across Seattle. (Thanks John for the tip!)

Tags: Ballard · Fremont   Share

  • old ballard
    this is freekin' great!!!! cheers to this guy for making our neighborhoods look a little nicer. the paintings are so colorful and childish (in a good way!) you can't help but smile.

    absolutely love it.
  • I'd like to see a mural done on the west side of Greenwood Elementary on the wall next to the street.
  • Angelatini
    Is this the guy who painted the Ballard Brothers truck?
  • 50intheclip
    go henry go henry go
  • Carie
    I love my henry bus... Thanks again Ryan, you rock
  • Mel
    Thank you Henry! I see the dog and the guitar playing unicorn-pegasus on my way home from work, and it makes me so happy.
  • emeraldkity
    I love these- I was worried they were going to be an enigmatic advertising campaign for a soft drink.

    Does he do sliding scale? The garage of my neighbor encloses my back yard and I am tired of looking at it.- I may be driven to create some graffiti myself
  • Ballardite
    Love the murals! Thanks Henry!
  • dylandylan
    Ryan Henry Ward is not talented, sorry. I hate seeing this ugly crap everywhere. Bring on the graffiti. Could you make your name any bigger? it might as well be an enigmatic ad campaign for a soft drink, or graffiti for fuck's sake. If I see another one of these paintings driving around on a car, truck or bus, or covering another wall, I'm going to puke. And all you yuppie/hippie Seattlite assholes (yes, you're all every one of those things, posers) with no taste need to stop glorifying it. grow a brain, please. Oh i forgot, you can't :-/ I'm not saying the guy is a bad person, or what he's doing isn't totally, mundanely normal, I'm just saying it sucks and everyone who likes it so much has bad taste. If any asshole can grab a can of cheap paint and draw on everybody's shit, why don't you all do it so we can at least see a little less Henry.
  • ballardmike
    You are a dick.
  • dylandylan
    I won't dispute that here. Gotta balance out the sappy brown-nosing sheep somehow. There are 3 types of people. Best to be the one you described me as.
  • Name
    I gotta agree - without a doubt this is bad art. Big, bad art. Poor seattle!
  • anon1234
    I'm also tired of seeing that shit everywhere. I have lived here all my life so I don't appreciate the generalization that we're all hippie yuppie assholes. Most of those dicks (Ryan Henry Ward is from somewhere up north I think) moved here from someplace else, as I'm assuming you did, and brought their bullshit with them in much the same way you have.
    I do agree that it doesn't take a whole lot of talent to create some of that stuff and I don't see how people can dismiss even the best graff art out of hand while they fall all over themselves to have this douche paint his doodles on their houses.
    If I walked into any elementary school anywhere in the city at any time of day I bet I could find similar crayon drawings in the garbage.
    Henry, please stop already.
  • dylandylan
    sorry, i only meant the ones brown-nosing henry :) word up.
  • dylandylan
    I tried saying this out loud in a way more constructive way, (yes, i know this was rude. Social experiement, sry for the offensive language) and I actually got shot down way more... people either dismiss it or dont say shit when you rant. but if you have something constructive to say they try to tear you apart, and they make shit up to make you feel wrong about your opinion. this first guy certainly doesn't have 2 phd's (he can't form sentences, uses very obvious, general descriptions...) and the other is certainly smokin' something... i mean, he assumes many many things about who I am, and is completely off target.

    check it out:

    http://www.phinneywood.com/2008/08/23/by-henry-...

    apparently we are bad people for not liking someone who is less than average at what he does... and somehow henry is this hero painter, on the cutting edge... of suck.......
  • Nathan
    Well I dont like henry's stuff either, but to say he sucks and has no talent is very uninformed and reactionary. He is great at what he does. He has style and captures something no one else is in seattle. My father who is an art proffessor absolutely loves it. I just like the historical murals better, ones that actually capture the history of our forfathers. I would suggest to people that critisize to be very well educated and have a body of their own work that is superior to who they obviously hate. I dont like Dale Chihuley either, but to say he has no talent and sucks is a very uninteresting point of view.
  • mike
    dylan sucks. I know him personally and hes just an ignorant hick.

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