Autobiography

(Of Some Sort)

Well, I have to admit I don't really paint my paintings; a Magic Monkey does. He comes to my studio late at night, when it's very quiet. Mysterious things happen late at night when most people are asleep. I help the Magic Monkey, but he does most of the work. My big job is to get him to show up. I've been learning just what that takes. He is very particular. The right frame of mind is important; I have to switch my brain from linear, logical thinking to creative, free feeling. If I start to think to much, then it's time for a nap or perhaps build a fort out of blankets with my son. Things have to flow from a place that is more subconscious and unhibited. When you believe and have faith things will flow. You can really feel it. It's like magic. The monkey comes tapping at the door, we get the paint and brushes out of the treasure chest and we have a great time making art.

When I was a child in school my teachers would wonder why my drawings of dogs would have their intestines showing or why my self portraits had a third eye. They disapproved, but I got a lot of support from my family and I learned to really enjoy confusing my teachers and even scaring them. Children have no inhibitions when making their art. I've never seen my 4 year old son have a creative block, and his art is much more interesting then most adults art. Children are miraculous.

I believe to get ideas you have to nourish the spirit. I stuff myself full of things I like: pictures of bugs, painting by Bouguerru and David, books about Phenous T. Barnum, films by Ray Harryhausen, old photographs of strange people, childrens books about space and science, medical illustrations, music by Frank Sinatra and Debussy, magazines, T.V., Jung and Frued, Ren and Stimpy, Joseph Campbell and Nostradamus, Ken and Barbie, Alchemy, Freemasonry, 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.

It seems to me that everything I am going to paint I have already painted. Something will "click" and the entire image will flash into my head. I then just have to remember what all the specific details of the image are supposed to be. I will often get stuck on a minor detail like the pattern on a curtain or the specifics of a background animal. It is very clear when I have the correct answer and resolve all the pieces of a work successfully. I just come as close as possible to what is supposed to be there.

I believe if you follow your heart and do what you love, success will follow. If you enchant yourself, others will be too.

-Mark Ryden

Biography

Taken From The Meat Show Catalog

Mark Ryden was born on January 20, 1963 in Medford Oregon, but grew up in Southern California. He received a B.F.A. in 1987 from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
Mark's paintings are treasured by collectors from Australia to Sweden. A few of his clients include Stephen King, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert DeNiro, Michael Jackson, Patrick Leonard, Ringo Starr, Don Was, Chris Carter, Steven Tyler, and the famous anti-mogul Long Gone John.
Currently, Mark is living in a magic house in Sierra Madre, California with his lovely wife Carolyn, his imaginative 4 year old son Jasper, and his sweet new daughter Rosie. You can find him late at night in his studio among his many trinkets, statues, skeletons, saints, and old toys that he collects for inspiration.