Early Monday afternoon, legendary horror artist Bernie Wrightson announced that he will be retiring to focus on his health, following a brain surgery. His retirement was announced on Facebook in a written statement.

RELATED: Bernie Wrightson Shares Unseen Ghostbusters Concept Art

"I apologize for our silence for the past few months," the statement reads. "Last November Bernie began falling again, and having obvious problems with perception. He had to undergo yet another brain surgery to relieve bleeding, and then spend several weeks undergoing in-patient rehabilitation. Unfortunately, it appears that he has lasting damage: he has extremely limited function on his left side, and is unable to walk or reliably use his left hand, among other limitations."

The statement went on to say that Wrightson will no longer attend conventions or produce new art. Wrightson can still sign his name, however, and will continue to send out signed prints to Kickstarter backers. He will also continue to sell art from a collection of already-created work.

RELATED: Nicotero Designed a Bernie Wrightson Tribute Zombie for “The Walking Dead”

Wrightson has been creating horror art for over 45 years and has worked with many of the major comic book publishers. His first comic appeared in "House of Mystery" #179 in 1968. He continued to work on mystery and horror titles for DC and Marvel and in 1971 he co-created Swamp Thing for DC with writer Len Wein.

He has worked on Batman, Spider-Man, and The Punisher as well as several titles with IDW Publishing. As a conceptual artist, Wrightson worked on films such as "Ghostbusters," "Galaxy Quest," "Spider-Man," and Stephen King's film "The Mist."

RELATED: Links in a Long Chain to Make a Career

CBR wishes Bernie Wrightson the best in his retirement.