Artist Feature: Ryan Heshka

Empty Lighthouse is a reader-supported site. This article may contain affiliate links to Amazon and other sites. We earn a commission on purchases made through these links.

Inspired by science fiction comics, pulp magazines, and old monster flicks, Ryan Heshka's pop-art illustrations are a perfect union of weird and whimsical.

Like an episode of "The Twilight Zone," his pieces are quirky, otherworldly, and plenty campy.

Heshka was raised in Canada, where he resides today, and is a self-taught artist with a background in interior design. His work usually depicts post-apocalyptic scenarios and is frequently graced by robots, aliens, mutants, superheroes, and, of course, mysterious, pouty-lipped, pin-up girls.

He combines acrylic, gouache, and oil paint, employing a bright palette and hazy edges to enhance the dream-like quality of his art.

Heshka has release two books, one titled "Ryan Heshka's ABC Spook Show," in 2007, and "Welcome to Monster Town," in 2010-- both of which are available on Amazon.

All images are courtesy of Heshka's website, which you can visit here: http://www.ryanheshka.com/