Born in Yorkshire, England, David Ward immigrated to Canada in 1977. He studied Graphic Design at George Brown College in Toronto and, upon leaving, pursued a career freelancing as a designer/illustrator. He has worked with some of the leading design and book publishing firms, including Penguin Books and Viking Press.

Prior to making the decision to focus on fine art exclusively in1987, David had worked in various professions; from farming, to trading Index Futures on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Seemingly unrelated, these diverse experiences have all helped to shape David’s view of the world.

It was a kayaking trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Columbia that finally brought about his concentrating solely on painting, away from the security of a regular job. Within a month of his return, David had moved to the artist community of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico, to begin work on a collection of West Coast landscapes for an exhibition the following year. The success of David’s paintings can, in part, be attributed to his extensive travels; from Africa, Asia, and Central America, to the Canadian Arctic and Maritime Provinces. All of these places, in their own way, have inspired a rich array of paintings which now hang in private and corporate collections in Canada, the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. His paintings, usually acrylic on canvas, depict a wide range of subjects; from people and architecture to wildlife and pure landscape.

In 1992, David was invited with two other Canadians, to exhibit at the Lotte Gallery in Seoul, South Korea. It was the first time contemporary artists from North America were extended this privilege. He has had paintings accepted by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson “Birds in Art” Exhibition, Wisconsin; “Arts for the Parks” Exhibition, Jackson, Wyoming; and the Wildlife Art International annual exhibitions at the Algonquin Park Art Gallery, Ontario, Canada.

Today, David lives and paints in rural southern Ontario and finds the quiet country life inspiring and therapeutic. David says, “Living in the country is a daily reminder of how beautiful nature is … and how fragile it can be.”