A.J. Ransdell

A.J. Ransdell is a Long Beach artist, musician and professional Prop-maker. His creative interests began as a child who loved to draw as an escape from reality. A freak accident at the age of 18 caused his right hand to be completely amputated. His hand was successfully reattached after an 18 hour surgery but he was forced to learn to write left handed. As a result, his drawing abruptly stopped due to the almost total loss of movement in his dominate hand. The insecurity and frustration that comes with not being able to finely control either hand left him unsure if he could ever draw again. It is a daunting process seeing something so clear in his brain but struggling to use the wrong hand to translate. Three years ago he decided to pick up a paint brush and create once more. His primary source of inspiration comes from mostly childhood memories, 1970’s television shows, music and nature. His art is characterized by vibrant colors, sometimes dark imagery and odd textures.

A.J. grew up in the California Heights neighborhood of Long Beach. He is a Poly High School dropout who was very active in the early 1980’s Punk Rock music scene. He went on to form several bands, the most notorious being Das Klown in 1989. The band released five full length albums as well as multiple singles on several record labels: Triple X, Long Beach/Skunk Records and Know Records.

A Prop-maker for thirty years, A.J. has worked on countless television shows and major Motion Pictures. Currently he is working on the Avatar sequels, the second to be released in 2021.

He has exhibited his art in several solo shows throughout Los Angeles and his work can be found in many private collections throughout the U.S.