Ryan Nelsen is an illustrator based in Brooklyn, New York. He enjoys combining traditional and digital media to create playful and whimsical artwork, cultivating a world full of texture, vibrancy, and imagination. He often starts his pieces by scribbling, cutting paper, painting, and assembling a mixed-media collage. He then works in Procreate and Photoshop to pull everything together.
In this series of works, Ryan continues to explore his artistic voice through experimenting with a wide variety of materials. He also loves ducks. So there are a lot (and I mean a LOT) of ducks in his work. See if you can spot them all!
Ryan graduated this spring from Pratt Institute where he studied Illustration. He plans on working in the world of picture books for young readers. Ryan was a shortlisted artist for the 2024 Communication Arts Illustration Competition for his series “Ducks on Ducks,” featured in this exhibition.
