Justin Ward grew up locally in Carmel Highlands, Carmel Valley and Monterey before attending California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland where he majored in Graphic Design and Printmaking.
After a long and successful career as a professional creative art director for many major corporations, Justin decided to concentrate his full attention on his first love of fine art printmaking.
After years of intensive study on the history of printmaking and specific study on the James McNeil Whistler and the Etching Revival period between 1840 and 1930, He has set out to follow in the footsteps of the masters.
For the last decade, he has been documenting the architectural treasures of the Monterey Bay Area and has been completing sets of etchings on Fisherman’s Wharf, Old Monterey, Carmel and the Mission, Salinas, San Juan Bautista and many other local areas of interest.
Perhaps his greatest influence has been local artist and etcher Armin Hansen (1886-1957) who was a key figure in the revival of etching, especially locally, during the first half of the century. Hansen’s etchings of the California shoreline and of Monterey’s Fishermans Wharf capture the atmosphere of the sea and the drama of men struggling for a livelihood from it.
Justin Ward’s etchings are on display or in the permanent collections of the Carmel Mission, Monterey Community Hospital, Monterey Maritime Museum and the Monterey Historical Society.
He has also won numerous awards at local art competitions and is represented in several local art galleries including membership in the prestigious Carmel Art Association.
Each of his limited edition etchings is a unique and individual piece of handcrafted art. Each is hand printed, hand numbered and signed at the bottom as proof of the artist’s final approval of the artistic image. Most of his etching editions are very small, sometimes limited to as few as ten printed etchings up to editions of approximately 50.
Please feel free to contact the artist directly at tanandwater@aol.com or view additional examples of his art at www.jwardetchings.com.
You can also view additional etchings on the Carmel Art Association website: www.carmelart.org or at the Mission Gallery website: www.missiongalleryart.com
Personal Note from Justin Ward:
I was lucky enough to have grown up locally on the Monterey Peninsula, attending Carmel River School, Carmel Middle School and Carmel High where I was encouraged and mentored by my high school art teacher, local artist and former Carmel Art Association member William Stone who unfortunately passed away a few years ago.
Although I knew very early on in my childhood that I wanted to be an artist, I wasn’t sure what particular path to take. So after high school I attended Monterey Peninsula College for several semesters, taking all the art courses available and receiving high grades in every class. I then personally asked each of my instructors if I was good enough as an artist to continue on in the field and attend a specialized art college and they all agreed one hundred percent.
So, I packed my bags and attended California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland to major in Graphic Design and illustration. But I would sneak into the printmaking studio at nights and weekends to teach myself etching and lithography.
Because by this time I was already fascinated with the lives and art of Rembrandt and James McNeill Whistler and felt a desperate need to create etchings.
I am basically a self taught etcher and through many years of much trial and error and reading every book I could on the subject, managed to learn the craft from start to finish.
The majority of my earliest etchings were of sites that I travelled to or visited or subject matter that happened to appeal to me at the time.
Before I managed to obtain my own small etching press, I would sign up for printmaking courses at various colleges and art schools so I could use their studio facilities.
But I rarely attended any of the formal classes, usually just showing up during the nights and weekends to use the printmaking equipment.
After graduating from art college I had a great fear of living and starving in a garret and I needed a steady job, some sort of regular paycheck to rely on and so for the past 25 years I have climbed the graphic designer ladder from entry level junior graphic artist to art director, creative director and creative marketing manager.
In essence, I have reached the top of the commercial art career and have created nationwide advertising campaigns for major corporations such as Coca-Cola, Mothers Cookies, Kodak, the Oakland A’s, San Jose Sharks, HSBC Bank, Tower Records and many other large worldwide businesses.
But during all those years of 9 to 5 jobs, I have never lost my love to etch and have continued to do so throughout all the years since art school for personal creative satisfaction.
I have converted my garage into a fully equipped etching studio with a press, acid baths, inking area and a print drying rack.
Believe it or not, It has only been in the past four or five years that I have been actively knocking on local art gallery doors with my fine art etchings and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
I have been in five or six local galleries and elected a member of the Carmel Art Association, which was always a goal and dream of mine since my high school days working with William Stone.
I have used all media throughout my life to create art.
I have painted with oils and acyrilics, watercolors, colored pencils, pen and ink, pencil and many others.
But once I was exposed to Rembrandt and Whistler during high school, I fell in love with the art and craft of fine art etching and have continued to use the medium for my primary artistic output.
Why have I specialized in etching?
First off, I love the history of the art and the men who have specialized in this art. I love the craft aspect of etching, polishing the plates to a mirror like finish, working with metals and acids to bite in the image.
I love the thrill of it when the first proof is pulled and you finally learn whether all of the effort was worth while. I love the smells of the studio, the inks and the numerous steps you must follow to insure success.
Why don’t many other artists do the same?
There is a need for years of specialized technical training, expensive equipment and handling dangerous chemicals. There is a long delay between the initial drawing on the plate until the first proof is pulled from the press.
All in all, it is exhausting, messy and a very difficult medium to master.
Many colleges and universities have discontinued traditional printmaking studios due to expensive costs for equipment and the dangerous chemicals involved.
