Watchman's Note

This is a journey to the best designs in the world of Zazzle.com. Handpicked and presented (along with my own artwork) by yours truly, the driving force behind Surreality designs. We'll discover great artists and special products -mostly with a taste for the eccentric. But let us not confine ourselves in specific genres: the possibilities are endless and so is the great art one can find at Zazzle.

11/30/2010

Giraffe on wheels

Giraffe Orange shirt
Giraffe Orange by matthew_i_aldous
Browse Zazzle for another teezazzle.com
This vector giraffe looks lovely on the bright yellow t-shirt by Matthew I. Aldous and the added surprise element of the animal having wheels, increases both the fun and the surreality factor!
An upbeat design from an artist that uses simple animal forms to great effect.

11/29/2010

Strange dolls, indeed!


Here is Dr. Scops, a rather creepy fellow drenched in surreality. I wouldn't try to describe him. There are things that evade description, things so strange and unusual that one has to simply experience.
I can tell you this:
This creature is a doll made by Beth Robinson, a true master of doll making, whose imagination spawns weird characters and whose talent transforms them to great paintings, dolls and photographs. Her creations range from eerily tender to outright scary. Have a look in Beth's Strange Dolls zazzle shop and I bet you'll get hooked and will want to visit her fantastic website too. Who knows, you may end up commissioning something -maybe Dr. Scops's mistress...

Lucky Ray

This one has been circulating since summer but I couldn't resist the temptation of putting it here. You see, it concerns Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite writers of all times, the science fiction legend that created astounding books such as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles (this one has a special place in my heart) and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
In this video clip, the actress and comedian Rachel Bloom dedicates a sexy teenage rocker (in the tradition of countless lolita-esque pop songs) to her lust for ole man Ray.




I do hope that Bradbury -who is 90 years old- appreciates the gesture!
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11/27/2010

Fighting beauty


The silhouette of a sexy, swimsuit-wearing lady and typography in pink seem to clash with a call to action and fighting. That's what I thought and that's how this idea came to life. The lady's pose is a classic old-school model's posture, yet the silhouetted raised fist can be viewed as the symbol of protest and uprising.
The woman inclines on huge, pink letters but they spell "fight" and their grungy texture is far from pristine.

Fight Lady ladies shirt shirt
Fight Lady ladies shirt by surrealitee
Browse zazzle for a different shirtzazzle

I find this contradiction humorous and interesting -even slightly political. It's the latest addition in my Vectoria work and you may find it in the Fight Lady section of my store.

11/26/2010

The light of lights

Soul Light shirt
Soul Light by alprod
Browse zazzle for a different shirtzazzle

This chocolate brown shirt gives a unique glimpse in our inner self via a light bulb deep in our chest. The light bulb symbolizes the heart and -in a way- our very soul, and gives AL (the designer) the opportunity to showcase some great shadow play with the human ribcage! It's a really amazing design based on an interesting concept and it's just a small sample of the beautiful graphic design that can be found in Alkrea.

11/24/2010

Top 5 Santa greeting cards on Zazzle

Christmas is just around the corner, so this is the perfect time for presenting you with Surreality Watch's Top 5 in Santa Claus-themed greeting cards. Some vintage Santa designs are astonishing and probably deserve their own post, but today we're focusing on contemporary artists. Here it goes:


(1)
I love the stylized Santa boot on this playful card by Christmas Gift Store!


(2)
 An elegant Santa monkey using it's tail to spell "Joy". Great work from LJ Rounds.


(3)

A surfer Santa runs off to catch the Big One in this funny cartoon by Raycasso.


(4)

Grant Wood's American Gothic gets the Santa treatment in this parody by F Bod Studios.


(5)

The song's verse gets a humorous new meaning in the hands of cartoonist Joe Kohl.


If you're interested in more eccentric yuletide cards, have a look at these posts:

11/22/2010

Sign of the Sacred Chao

A new design where the Hollywood sign gets the discordian treatment! The famous lettering is used to spell Holy Chao, the Sacred Chao of Discordianism. What is the Chao?
In the words of Malaclypse the Younger:
The Sacred Chao symbolizes absolutely everything anyone need ever know about absolutely anything, and more! It even symbolizes everything not worth knowing, depicted by the empty space surrounding the Hodge-Podge.
You could say it's the symbol that depicts the balance between order and chaos. In this case, I used the Hollywood cultural reference as a pretext to convey the meaning of the Sacred Chao without showing the symbol itself. A simple, humorous mashup, really. You can see more at the Holy Chao section.

11/19/2010

Top 15 Zazzle Calendars for 2011

You got that right folks! These are the best calendars in the whole zazzledom , according to Surreality Watch. Yes, it's a subjective list and, yes, your favorite may be left out but that's how it goes.
I should note that the items of this list are in random order. They are all winners, anyway! So, here it goes:


(1)

This includes fourteen of Leah Saulnier's surrealistic and playful paintings. She is absolutely great!


(2)

An eerie, ominous collection of photographs from Chernobyl. Industrial archeology by SPERRZONNE.


(3)

A comic book calendar from Chimaera Studios.


(4)

A surreal-pop calendar featuring Lizwiil's unique art.


(5)

A trip through furniture design's finest moments (plus a Boston terrier!) as proposed by Lili Chin's Boogie Wonderland.


(6)

Fantasy meets surrealism in George Grie's magnificent landscapes.


(7)

Graffiti and urban art through the lens of Emangl.


(8)

Vintage, 19th century artwork with the skeleton characters of Luis Crucius. Found in Vintage Cabaret.


(9)

Fun micro-photography with dinosaurs roaming the Earth, by Lis Bokt.


(10)

Colorful, kitschy retro fun from Kitsch Bitsch.


(11)

Hand drawing and digital art in this unusual calendar by Gregory Gallo's Arteology.


(12)

City life and photography. Nice work by Deborah Julian.


(13)

Patrimonio's tribute to the working life, with illustrations in the old propaganda-poster style.


(14)

A collection of Casey Shannon's ink paintings. Tender sumi-e!


(15)

Wonderful black and white photography by Claire E. Skinner's Rocklawn Arts.


[Did you like this list? Comment your heart away and tell me what you think!] 

11/15/2010

Holy Chicken!


Nomint is a motion-design studio from Athens, Greece, known for the hilarious The Greek Crisis Explained trilogy. They created an exquisite video, sprinkled with surrealistic fairy-dust, where the hero is a double-headed chicken. Well, not your average double-headed chicken (hmmm...) but the Holy Chicken of Life and Music itself! This fine short animation caught the eyes of countless Vimeo users and of a high profile committee (including David Lynch and Roman Coppola) that came together to decide the winners of the Vimeo Festival Awards.

The Holy Chicken was a Top 5 Finalist and deservedly so. Enjoy it and take the trip to Nomint's site or visit the Holy Chicken web page to learn more about the film.

11/11/2010

Molecular love

It's been a long time since I saw this great tote bag but this particular color/size combo wasn't available. Fortunately it is now and I'm sure you'll like this delicate abstract design. It feels like a playful version of an image from a biology book and I discovered it in HopeAli.
The artist is Yanula Chevalier from Brooklyn, and she offers many colorful, upbeat designs.

[This post is the 200th on Surreality Watch! Thanks to all for reading and following. I do hope we'll be keeping each other company for many hundreds more!]

Going quack to my roots

I consider my roots to be graphic design with an unexpected, somehow surreal, touch. That's exactly where I am with this newest creation, the Quack design. Based on an old optometry drawing of an eye, it transforms this to duck's head.
In most cases, it's available in both transparent (the medium's material shows through) or a cardboard-textured background. I do believe that each has it's own charm.
For more of my work you can always peruse Surreality or my Surrealitee Design webpage.

11/10/2010

Très fashionable

I've got to give it to Elaine Biss: haute couture and ladies' trendy fashion is not my cup of tea but this stationery is so stylish, well-thought of and well-designed that I simply couldn't resist posting it here! She has the rare talent of producing incredible sketches and watercolors that capture the essence of being chic with a handful of simple lines. Her store is full of treasures for the fashion-minded. Be careful ladies, you may get carried away!

11/09/2010

Obsession will be the fall of me

This free falling man caught my imagination since I laid eyes on him. The repetitive human figures, the sparingly used color and the symbolism of the Obsession note card made it an instant favorite.
The artist's name is Peter Yaworowski from The Hejz shop. He is a true master of digital art and he comes from Warsaw, Poland (a country with an astonishingly rich tradition in graphic design and illustration).

11/08/2010

Classical lust

This a perfect t-shirt for lovers of classical music. Actually, it's a fantastic t-shirt for everybody, but classical music aficionados may appreciate a little bit more the coolness of this design. It parts ways with the vintage look that most artists use for visually suggesting the Classical era , it's fresh, humorous and utterly interesting. I found it at Urban Cowboy's store, alongside many interesting things (I particularly admire his magnificent digital collages: this t-shirt is just the top of the iceberg!).

Talking about classical music, check WCPE for an exquisite online classical radio experience. It may even get you horny...

11/01/2010

Artists against the war

Artists Against the War is a collective formed by several artists and designers, offering powerful and interesting artwork that opposes war, violence and arms. I particularly like this strong black and white poster by The Love Movement but there is plenty of peace-promoting beauty to choose from.
Some designs are provocative (and I do mean it in a good way!), some are tender, others take a stand on very sensitive subjects, but they all serve the purpose of promoting peaceful coexistence and keeping people alive. That's something I can relate to and I respect them for daring to try.
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