8 Artists Exploring Dark Art
Dark art captivates with its ability to blend beauty, mystery, and emotion into something hauntingly powerful. Whether it’s a surreal portrait with hollow eyes or a fantastical creature emerging from chaos, dark art invites us to explore themes that live just beneath the surface – such as grief, identity, fear, resilience. These eight artists use their unique styles to express the emotional complexity found in shadowy subjects, each transforming darkness into something visually and psychologically compelling.
What is Dark Art?
Dark art as a whole encompasses a wide range of themes and topics, but the general goal is to excite, intrigue, and shock the viewer. While some dark art incorporates horror iconography like skulls, ghosts, and monsters, other creations focus on the beauty within morose imagery. Whether it’s artwork that’s frightening or a scene that sparks curiosity, dark art spans across an incredible mix of interpretation.
From hyperrealistic digital figures to spooky, storybook-inspired scenes, this collection of artists spans a wide spectrum of eerie aesthetics. Some lean into the macabre with bold symbolism and maximalist compositions, while others reveal unsettling truths through delicate or dreamlike imagery. Keep scrolling to learn more about these artists and their dark art styles.
Laura H. Rubin | Macabre Digital Realist
Laura H. Rubin’s digital portraits blend hyperrealism with surreal, macabre touches, capturing women who seem both fragile and fierce. Based in Switzerland, she creates emotionally charged figures with ghostly skin, hollow stares, and subtle distortions that invite closer inspection. Each piece feels like a quiet confrontation with inner darkness.
Balancing raw emotion with abstract aesthetics, Rubin’s work explores identity through a gothic, dreamlike lens. Her award-winning art has been featured in books and recognized by Beautiful Bizarre, offering a captivating way to embrace the beauty found in darker themes.
Click here to see all of Laura H. Rubin’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Derek Turcotte | Tattoo-Inspired Surrealist
Derek Turcotte’s work merges the intensity of tattoo art with the detail of fine painting, resulting in bold, otherworldly visuals that radiate dark energy. Influenced by years of experience airbrushing motorcycles and tattooing skin, his acrylic paintings blend gritty texture with surreal symbolism. Skulls, creatures, and mythic figures emerge from dramatic compositions, each piece pulsing with a sense of movement and menace.
Rooted in a lifetime of artistic exploration, Turcotte’s style is both rugged and refined. His background in airbrushing and custom tattoo design gives his work a striking edge, while his use of bold contrast and fantastical themes draws viewers into a world that feels both apocalyptic and alive. Whether hanging in a gallery or inked on skin, his imagery brings a visceral depth that resonates with lovers of dark, high-impact art.
Click here to see all of Derek Turcotte’s artwork available on iCanvas.
DEMÖ | Maximalist Symbolic Storyteller
DEMÖ’s artwork bursts with unapologetic energy, layering bold color, abstract shapes, and strange, shadowy figures into densely packed scenes. Based in São Paulo, he uses maximalism as a way to explore identity, otherness, and resistance, often blending beauty with the bizarre. Otherworldly creatures and chaotic compositions create an immersive visual experience that feels both confrontational and cathartic.
Drawing from his experience as a queer artist, DEMÖ infuses each piece with raw emotion and symbolic power. His work challenges norms while celebrating the strength found in chosen family and self-expression. The result is a body of art that radiates defiance, complexity, and a deep sense of personal truth—perfect for those drawn to bold visuals with layers of meaning.
Click here to see all of DEMÖ’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Hikari Shimoda | Apocalyptic Pop Surrealist
Hikari Shimoda’s art lives in the unsettling space where innocence meets apocalypse. Her wide-eyed children, painted in candy-colored hues and cosmic glows, channel both the wonder and dread of growing up in a fractured world. With influences from manga, pop culture, and religion, her characters often appear angelic and otherworldly, yet carry an emotional weight that’s impossible to ignore.
Based in Nagano, Japan, Shimoda uses her work to explore themes of identity, loneliness, and the pressure of societal expectations. Beneath the glitter and vibrant palettes, there’s a raw vulnerability that makes each piece feel both tender and tragic. Her portraits capture the contradictions of childhood in a chaotic age, offering a surreal yet honest reflection of hope, fear, and the search for meaning.
Click here to see all of Hikari Shimoda’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Dead Kittie | Sweetly Sinister Painter
Megan Majewski, the artist behind Dead Kittie, creates work that lures you in with its soft, storybook charm, then reveals a much darker truth. Her acrylic paintings on wood panels feature wide-eyed girls, ghostly animals, and surreal landscapes, all tinged with decay and eeriness. What first appears delicate becomes disquieting, blurring the line between innocence and the grotesque.
Drawing inspiration from dreams, memories, and a fascination with the once-living, Majewski’s art tells quiet, unsettling stories. Each piece feels like a scene from a forgotten fairytale where nature is strange, creatures are haunted, and beauty hides something rotten beneath. It’s a style that feels equal parts nostalgic and nightmarish, perfect for those drawn to art that’s as spooky as it is sweet.
Click here to see all of Dead Kittie’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Doriana Popa | Eerie Portrait Illustrator
Moldova-based artist Doriana Popa’s dark art illustrations feature portraits, sometimes with pops of color and eye-catching elements. Focusing on eerie and unsettling imagery, she adds surreal twists to female faces. Whether it’s showcasing skulls popping out of a head or nature blooming from half of a face, we’re pulled into themes that reveal the darkness underneath her human subjects.
From human masks falling off a skull to a mind disappearing into a forest, we think her artwork can be a bold way to create an intriguing and stirring atmosphere.
Click here to see all of Doriana Popa’s artwork available on iCanvas.
DIENZO | Horror Movie Artist
Inspired by his love of Halloween, horror movies, femme fatales, and all things macabre, Peoria, Illinois-based artist DIENZO’s dark art oil paintings feature curious characters, along with Limited Editions of famous faces. With his work ranging from popular and iconic horror movie characters to his own imaginary subjects, he pulls viewers into macabre subjects. No matter if it’s eyes outline in dark black eyeliner or character surrounded by a gloomy forest, we’re entranced by the eerie details.
From the Headless Horseman riding into the night to a zombie boy in blue, we think his artwork can be a bold way to create a dramatic and ominous atmosphere. If his spooky style seems familiar, you may have seen his work as a lead creative for companies like Disney, Mattel, and Cartoon Network.
Click here to see all of DIENZO’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Stéphanie Bouw | Doll-Like Character Artist
Taking inspiration from Asian culture and aesthetics, Brussels-based artist Stéphanie Bouw’s paintings feature elegant females and big-eyed characters. Her dark art dives into doll-like ladies depicted with horror-esque themes, Halloween costumes, and unusual elements. Whether it’s a scary display of a spooky mythical character like a vampire or a slightly sweet and innocent looking skeleton-themed dress, she pulls viewers into the unsettling yet mesmerizing eyes of every female.
From a bloody bride portrait to a zombie girl with a skeleton body, we think her artwork can be an interesting way to create a fantastical atmosphere with a touch of endearment.
Click here to see all of Stéphanie Bouw’s artwork available on iCanvas.
Want to check out even more art with dark and fantastical themes? Click here to see all Pop Surrealism & Lowbrow Art available on iCanvas.
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