What Pop Surrealism really means to me
When I first heard the term Pop Surrealism, I saw it as a label, something art critics and galleries used to group quirky, dreamlike imagery. But over the years, through my own creative journey, my understanding has grown deeper, looser, and much more personal.
For me, Pop Surrealism isn’t just a style, it’s a playful way of seeing the world. It’s where the unexpected meets the familiar: cute meets weird, whimsy meets wonder, and everyday ideas become animated visions full of curiosity.
In my sketchbooks, you'll often find unlikely characters, surreal scenes, and playful mash-ups that feel like snapshots from someone’s imagination the moment it escapes reality. When I sit down to draw or craft, whether it’s a crazy fish tank full of bizarre creatures or a hand-colored Cowgirl donut, I’m not just doodling. I’m entering that moment where logic gives way to playful sensation. That’s Pop Surrealism for me. It’s not about making something that fits a strict definition. It’s about creating art that resonates, often with a smile (sometimes with hidden message) and always with a sense of wonder.
Why it matters in my work
It usually starts quietly, with a sketch. A fish tank appears on the page, but not the kind you’d find in a living room, this one fills itself with creatures that feel half-real, half-dreamed up. As the drawing grows, the rules loosen. A character gains a strange expression, a shape bends in an unexpected way, and suddenly the scene begins to feel alive.
Other times, that same energy moves into paper. A stack of pages becomes a flipbook, and with each flip, small, whimsical characters begin to move, almost as if they’ve been waiting for the chance.
In those moments, I’m not thinking about style or labels. I’m simply following imagination as it leads, letting go of the need to make things look “right,” and trusting that joy will hold everything together. That’s where my version of Pop Surrealism lives, not as a category, but as a way of creating.
Pop Surrealism + craft
Sometimes it starts with a fish tank. At first glance it feels familiar; glass, water, fins... but then the rules quietly slip away. Real sea creatures mingle with shapes that couldn’t possibly exist, expressions turn mischievous, and suddenly the drawing is no longer about accuracy, but about curiosity.
Other times it takes the form of a flipbook, where paper characters refuse to stay still, moving frame by frame as if they’ve decided to live just beyond the page. And then there are moments when a Christmas tree becomes crowded with tiny personalities, each one demanding its own space, its own story, its own little spark.
None of these pieces are trying to make sense in a traditional way. They’re following a different instinct; one where imagination walks first, where worrying about looking strange fades into the background, and where making something joyful feels like the most honest choice. That’s where my version of Pop Surrealism quietly lives, woven into the way I draw, cut, color, and animate.
Sometimes it starts with a fish tank. At first glance it feels familiar; glass, water, fins... but then the rules quietly slip away. Real sea creatures mingle with shapes that couldn’t possibly exist, expressions turn mischievous, and suddenly the drawing is no longer about accuracy, but about curiosity.
Other times it takes the form of a flipbook, where paper characters refuse to stay still, moving frame by frame as if they’ve decided to live just beyond the page. And then there are moments when a Christmas tree becomes crowded with tiny personalities, each one demanding its own space, its own story, its own little spark.
None of these pieces are trying to make sense in a traditional way. They’re following a different instinct; one where imagination walks first, where worrying about looking strange fades into the background, and where making something joyful feels like the most honest choice. That’s where my version of Pop Surrealism quietly lives, woven into the way I draw, cut, color, and animate.
It’s about creative freedom
When people hear “Pop Surrealism,” they often picture paintings on gallery walls or polished digital illustrations. For me, it shows up much closer to my hands. It lives in paper, scissors, ink, glue, and markers. It sneaks into craft projects, into cutting and folding and layering, into things you can touch and turn and flip.
On my YouTube channel, that mindset unfolds naturally. A sketch grows into something colourful, then shifts again when it’s reinterpreted digitally. Retro influences collide with dreamlike scenes. Familiar ideas twist just enough to feel unexpected. It’s playful, sometimes a little odd, but always driven by curiosity rather than rules.
What connects all of it isn’t the medium; it’s the freedom behind it. Letting imagination run first, without filtering it into something “acceptable,” and trusting that joy knows where it wants to go.
And if you watch my art videos or sketch along with me, I hope it gives you that permission too, to explore, to play, and to follow curiosity wherever it leads.
That’s what Pop Surrealism means to me.
- Ingrid
Webstudio Sketchbook