Paul Ward

Artist Statement

Born in Manchester, based in Lyon, I’ve been doodling and daubing paint since the school bell dictated our every move.

I did screen printing for half a decade after university before finally taking a chance on making art full time. I recently celebrated the forth anniversary of that decision and, in my tiny but comfortable flat in the 3rd arrondissement, I have no desire to look back.

In constant disagreement with myself, the only truth I can count on is that I hate tyrants, that I can’t stand injustice or insensitivity. I feel this comes through in all my paintings and illustrations, whether it’s big bullies wielding truncheons and cracking heads at a climate march, or the nerve of the likes of Richard Branson asking for financial help from a world they trawl like an increasingly bare seabed.

I tend to balance all this anger with jokes, usually in the form of scribbled phrases and juvenile doodles that form the essence of my work.

Painting is where I find solace, it has such power to transfer ideas from your head to a surface.