14 Facts About Mark Ryden

Mark Ryden was born on January 20,1963 and is an American painter who is considered to be part of the Lowbrow art movement.

Mark Ryden was dubbed "the god-father of pop surrealism" by Interview magazine.

Mark Ryden's aesthetic is developed from subtle amalgams of many sources, from Ingres, David and other French classicists to Little Golden Books.

Mark Ryden designed artwork for prominent musicians including Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator", Michael Jackson's Dangerous and Red Hot Chili Peppers' One Hot Minute.

Mark Ryden was born in Medford, Oregon on January 20,1963, to Barbara and Keith Mark Ryden, and was raised in Southern California.

Mark Ryden's father was a painter who restored and customized cars.

Mark Ryden has two sisters and two brothers: his brother Keyth is an artist and works under the name KRK.

Mark Ryden graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1987.

From 1988 to 1998, Mark Ryden worked as a commercial artist.

Mark Ryden created book covers, including the Stephen King novels Desperation and The Regulators.

Mark Ryden continued to do so until his work was taken up by Robert Williams, a former member of the Zap Comix collective, who in 1994 put it on the cover of Juxtapoz, a magazine devoted to "lowbrow art".

Mark Ryden observes the disconnect in our contemporary culture between meat we use for food and the living, breathing creature it comes from.

Mark Ryden explains, "Some people look at these massive trees and feel a sort of spiritual awe looking at them, and then other people just want to cut them up and sell them, they only see a commodity".

Mark Ryden has created limited editions of his art to raise money for the Sierra Club and Nature Conservancy.