This is "Nurse Sue". Kinda strange, huh? Now take a look at this.....
"Cloven Bunny". I love the way the little girl's eyes are glazed over, staring out at nothing in particular. And look at her hand doodling absentmindedly in the blood of the cloven bunny... like this sorta thing- broken and bleeding stuffed animal bunnies- is a regular occurrence and, frankly, quite boring at this point.
Ok. now look at this........
"Fetal Trapping in Northern California"
So. Yep. Thats another precious little girl intently studying a miniature Abe Lincoln as he extracts a fetus from the "belly" of a tree. And I love it. Mark Ryden uses Abe Lincoln often in his art, as well as stuffed bunnies, bees, and meat.... heres a cool quote from his website in which he talks about his art, inspiration, and process:
I believe to get ideas you have to nourish the spirit. I stuff myself full of the things I like: pictures of bugs, paintings by Bouguereau and David, books about Pheneous T. Barnum, films by Ray Harryhausen, old photographs of strange people, children’s books about space and science, medical illustrations, music by Frank Sinatra and Debussy, magazines, T.V., Jung and Freud, Ren and Stimpy, Joseph Campbell and Nostradamus, Ken and Barbie, Alchemy, Freemasonary, Buddhism. At night my head is so full of ideas I can’t sleep. I mix it all together and create my own doctrine of life and the universe. To me, certain things seem to fit together. There are certain parallels and clues all over the place. There may be a little part of Alice in Wonderland that fits in. Charles Darwin, and Colonel Sanders provide pieces. To me the world is full of awe and wonder. This is what I put in my paintings.
Click on this link and visit his website for a larger collection of his work if you so desire..... do you think i'm wierd for liking this stuf? I haven't completely pinpointed it, but I'm drawn in by his use of nature, the color palette for sure, his sense of humor, and especially by the adorable children and their innocent responses to totally bizzare situations. I'll leave you with a few more of my favorites....
Walnut Tree Nymph
Dead Characters
The Ecstasy of Celia
Tears
