Mark Ryden (born in 1963) by PirateOfMangrove on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

A hallucinated naturalist and satanic esotericist, a sort of "crazy Walt Disney", Mark Ryden is the leader of the new American surrealists. Inspired by Margaret Keane, he draws his inspiration from his childhood memories and creates enchanted landscapes in pastel colors, populated by children who look like perverse dolls, animals as cute as they are mutilated, and comic or terrifying monsters. A "baroque" creator, he draws inspiration from history (the flying or miniature head of Abraham Lincoln is a recurring motif), painting and the world of comics, announcing with a few others (Marion Peck, Ray Caesar and Eric White) a revival in American popular art. A great technician, Ryden uses many pictorial techniques (graphite, gouache, oil, spray gun).