William T. Wiley has been called Huckleberry Duchamp, the Metaphysical Funk Monk, and the purveyor of Dude Ranch Dada. But to you, he can just be Mr. Unnatural.

Wiley grew up in rural Indiana, dreaming of life as one of the cowboys in his favorite comic books or movies. His father sold the family farm, packed up a trailer and moved the fam cross country to the Pacific Northwest. William developed a dogged love of art that's lead to a career bringing him fame for an irreverent style utilizing media from acrylic to a pinball machine.

His first solo exhibition was at SFMOMA all the way back in 1960, while he was still a student at the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute). After college, he was handpicked to join revolutionary first generation faculty in the art department UC Davis. Wiley loved teaching, and many of his students recall his laid back yet sagacious pedagogy, for which he might best be described as some funky hybrid of Hank Williams and a Zen Buddhist monk. There, alongside such great California artists as Robert Arneson, Manuel Neri, and Wayne Thiebaud, Wiley helped forge a first-of-its-kind MFA which helped artists zero in on their full potential.

Today, Wiley works out of his home studio in Marin County where he works on art all day while tuning in to NPR (otherwise known as living the dream). One of the hallmarks of his output is a recurring character named Mr. Unnatural. He's a lanky guy decked out with a bathrobe, false nose, Japanese clogs, and a dunce cap.