Ummm... the mural just painted this weekend on 41st and Stone Way - of a two story brown naked man pissing into a lake - is as appealing as , well, seeing a real person pissing into a pristine lake. My first thought was...oh no no no. My second thought was - who the hell is responsible for this!? It's impressive that it was done in one day. And I like the colors. Henry. You got some erasing to do.

ripple effect jack. oh and f you didnt know what sasquatch looks like, you know now, but no one will ever believe that you saw it. hmmm sounds like a familiar myth. hmmmm

Ryan is the zen master pimp of Seattle.

I drove past the artwork on 8th on a daily basis for the past week, and I'm ashamed to say it took me that long to realize it was something special. Bring it on! I'm ready now!

I'm a convert to Henryism! I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Mr. Ward, who in addition to being a wonderfully talented artist is one kindhearted and genuine fellow. The piece is here:

http://www.nwsource.com/entertainment/visual-ar...

By the way, Kevin: Your Orange Splot is an awesome gallery. I'll definitely be back soon!

Also: I hope the Swedes forgive me for getting my corporate funk all over their comments page. I'm a big fan of My Ballard, too.

Te,
To answer your question, that wonderful dog in the picture's name is Merlin.
Ryan Henry Ward is a cool mutha. I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by his paintings on a daily basis :)

How could you not like a dude who paints the motto "compassion brings security"...

I met ryan at the orange splot gallery. He is the nicest person in the world. I told him i couldnt afford his art although it was very affordable. he asked for my address and mailed me a beautiful watercoloring for free. He also gave me and my husband a free dinner coupon. the note he wrote said. "I just want people who like my art to be able to have it."
Ryan, your humble heart will always be appreciated. Ballard appreciates your contribution.

Evan & Shelley, I can see your point, if this was off on a side street rather than an arterial I probably wouldn't be too keen either, but to me 8th is a big connector street with occasional commercial so it doesn't seem as out of place to me as it would around the corner.
Similarly I love the Crazy art house on 8th down near 50th, but I don't think it would be appropriate just tucked into the middle of a bunch of ballard cottages...

And who is the dog with him?

I heard someone just offered him 200,000 dollars for his 50th mural. he declined and said hed rather see the money help rebuild new orleans. who is this guy? is he crazy or something?

its just paint. why dont shelley and evan get some gray paint at fred meyer for 5 dollars and paint over it. they could do it at night when everyone is in bed. then they could paint all of his stuff grey. then they could have theyre neighborhood just the way they like it. I bet these two clowns were bummed out when they figured out how to remove the grey from the zoo mural.
Go HENRY! you rule.
I heard you got body gaurds now. whats that about?

maybe if we support him rather than pull him down we can actually witness something great being done. or should we bash him and turn our eyes to shelly and watch her do something great and genius. maybe Im all confused.

oh, and you better get used to him because hes only done 13 of his 50.

I cringe when I think of people like you shelley, so I guess its all balanced in the universe.

what works of art have you donated free for our neighborhood lately shelley? Im sure they must be better than Ryan Henry Ward's or we wouldnt be hearing this critique.

As someone who lives across the street from this, I agree that this is NOT appropriate for a residential neighborhood. I understand the owners frustrations given that their wall- like fence has been "tagged" a few times over the past couple of years, however, there are more suitable ways to combat this-grow Boston Ivy or paint the wall a dark color--taggers just love a flat white surface which is how the fence looked before the mural. We are just grateful that we don't have to look at this all the time, but, driving by it we just cringe--it looks like a throbbing umbilical cord with floating eyeballs.

I heard he donated some work to the nature conservetory/ snow leopard branch.
Also theres rumors that he painted some murals in the dominican republic, in a haitian neighborhood. This guys got balls.

Im a retired art proffesor from RISD. Never in my 24 years of teaching have I seen such a talent as Ryan "Henry" Ward. I dont know what he's up to but I think he's great and onto something that is going to change the art world forever. Henry, if you read this, keep going. Your mural on on 8th and 67th is genius. The aliveness and boldness is bringing painting back from the dead. I love what appears to be your mistakes the best. Cheers, and best of luck.

this guy is trying to make the world better. hes trying to bring art to your lives for free. is your game better evan? if it is id like to see it. my guess is you do what your told every step of the way. probally shop at the gap?

I doubt a guy like ryan henry ward gives a shit what someone like evan thinks. If he did. he wouldnt be where hes at today.

I've been seeing these murals around the 'hood and I think they're awesome: colorful, fun, unique, creative. Cover the whole dang area with them from Shilshole to the Zoo as far as I'm concerned.

In fact I'm going to build a big ugly fence around my house just so he can come paint it.

(I'd like to see more cats in the murals though--preferably Siamese and preferably named Milo.)

i also noticed another really cool one this morning on 15th avenue nw across the street from Interbay Golf Course. I love his work. Very cheery & happy. Does anyone know how I could possibly get him to paint my fence in ballard? I live on 80th and would love to host one of his happy works! happy friday to all....

I hate to be a grumpy old Nimby, but frankly, I don't really like it (not his best). Also I think it isn't really that appropriate in a residential section of town - I like murals in business districts.

And what's the deal with his name? I'm not sure I've seen another mural where the artist's name is such a big feature of the abstract work (GS - you should get another shot of the final deal, which is like a long snake that ends in a giant "Henry".) Maybe I can talk the new Wicker Basket into a giant "Evan" billboard on the N side of their building.

I saw it further along this afternoon it's very cheerful!