Artists have long been fascinated by death and dying. Joe Coleman and Pushead made names for themselves several years ago by using gore as a primary theme in their work. And recently it seems that a new generation of artists have found influence in the same kind of material — guys like current NYC it-boy, Neckface. But is it possible that these artists have been influenced by the actual art of serial killers? In hopes of finding out, we decided to take a closer look at the creative underbelly that is this country’s mass murderers. Here’s our rundown (click thumbnails for full image):

Killer: Angelo Buono
Body count: 10
Fun fact: Was one half of the duo known as the Hillside Strangler
Review: A little too Thomas Kinkade for our tastes, but technically-speaking, not too shabby
Grade: C

Killer: Arthur Shawcross
Body count: 13
Fun fact: Ate several of his female victim’s genitals
Review: Your run-of-the-mill flash tattoo designs

Grade: C-

Killer: Charles Manson
Body count: We’ll never know
Fun fact: Has a swastika tattooed on his forehead
Review: The Rothko of serial killer artists

Grade: A

Killer: Charles Ng
Body count: 25+
Fun fact: Became a jailhouse lawyer and has yet to stand trial for his murders
Review: A decent representational artist, though his subject matter likely got him beaten up in the hoosegow
Grade: B-

Killer: Gerald Stano
Body count: 41
Fun fact: Was killed in the electric chair in 1998
Review: Uh dude, is that a Care Bear?

Grade: F

Killer: Harrison Graham
Body count: 7+
Fun fact: Lured junkie prostitutes back to his apartment to kill them
Review: Mediocre pen and paper nature drawings
Grade: D

Killers: Henry Lee Lucas & Ottis Toole
Combined body count: 6-200+
Fun fact: Henry was the inspiration for the film “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.” Together, Henry and Ottis cooked and ate a man during a Black Mass ritual
Review: Lucas’ monster portraits are downright scary. Toole’s monster portraits ain’t bad either
Grade: Lucas, A-; Toole, B-

Killer: Herbert Mullen
Body count: 13
Fun fact: Was voted “most likely to succeed” in high school
Review: Nice use of color, though fairly mundane
Grade: C+

Killer: John Wayne Gacy
Body count: 33
Fun fact: Used to work as a clown at hospitals
Review: Gacy has actually had legitimate art shows, though his art is often as twisted as he is
Grade: A

Killer: Kevin Haley
Body count: 8
Fun fact: Liked to kill and rape with his brother
Review: Draws about as well as we do
Grade: D-

Killer: Patrick Kearney
Body count: 28+
Fun fact: Left his victims in trash bags along the California highway
Review: What Shepard Fairey’s work would look like if he were a serial killer
Grade: B+

Killer: Richard Ramirez, a.k.a. “The Night Stalker”
Body count: 16+
Fun fact: Left Judas Priest lyrics at a crime scene
Review: High school notebook scrawls of heavy metal mascots
Grade: D

Killer: Robin Gecht
Body count: 17
Fun fact: Will be eligible for parole in 2022
Review: Like, totally surreal dude
Grade: B-

Killer: Tommy Lynn Sells
Body count: 12+
Fun fact: First committed murder at the age of 16
Review: Probably gives killer jailhouse tattoos
Grade: C+

If any of the above images have piqued your interest, you can purchase your very own serial killer painting here.

Related post: Rock Star Art Review