Ben Horton

Ben Horton began his professional art career creating frenzied black-ink illustrations for skateboard decks. Now that he's gotten older and isn't grinding as many rails, he has branched out further into his visual art. Horton frequently paints animals engaging in human-like activities—smoking, listening to headphones, reading. Sometimes the figures are painted over newspaper pages or advertisements. When he's not drawing wildlife, Horton gravitates toward grotesque images of Americana: a housewife with six eyes or a businessman laughing as he is stabbed in the forehead. It’s Norman Rockwell's characters zombified. Particularly effective is Mr. Nobody, a faceless phone caller reminiscent of DC Comics' The Question.