Tom Ward
IG/YouTube: @tomwardart
“Everything is connected, movement and connection is a constant theme in my work.”
What made you want to join Art Gym? I was interested in doing Art Gym for a few years and joined at the end of 2019 to help me get ready for an upcoming solo show for the city of Thornton. After Covid hit I started and the show was postponed, I began working on my collaboration project Working Separate Together. Art Gym has been a perfect fit for me because, my mural work is very on again and off again most of the time.
How has Art Gym helped with your art practice? The wide open format, exposure to a variety of different artistic pursuits and social component is very inspiring for me. As artists we have a tendency to be working on projects solo in the studio. Being around other creative people is a great motivator to produce quality work.
What are you hoping to communicate through your work? Playing, exploring the outdoors and the awe of nature. This passion flows through my art. This might sound a little “cosmic” but motion, flow and vibrations drive everything in the universe. I hope viewers feel the shapes, composition and energy of my work.
Who and/or what are some of your biggest artistic influences? My earliest memory is looking at fish in my Dad’s aquarium. Life, water refraction and motion have always been there. I like a lot of artists from 100+ years ago, Roberto Matta, Hilma af Klint, and the usual suspects Dali, Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne. Living artists would be Mark Ryden, Quang Ho, Yellena James. So many others, let’s talk.
What does your artwork mean to you? The best part of doing art is getting in the zone and being surprised what comes together. I struggled for a long time with getting into the process, I had a big results mindset in the past, its better now but I have a lot to do in that area. Producing work that grabs people on a gut/emotional level, is my ultimate.
