The one (or, maybe, two!) that got away

URANIA 2011 NEXT Calendar by FrancoBrambilla
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This is a superb addition to the recent Top 15 Zazzle Calendars for 2011 post. I wish I had seen it earlier but it's never too late for presenting great artwork. The Urania 2011 Calendar is full of Franco Brambilla's science fiction illustrations and, man, is he great!
Franco is an Italian illustrator and founder of Airstudio creativity lab, with a rampant imagination and incredible skill. Don't miss his store or you'll miss out on stuff as astonishing as this:

2011 Invading The Vintage by FrancoBrambilla
Make your own calendars at Zazzle

His Invading the Vintage series is based on the idea of aliens invading vintage postcards. And it's very, very good!

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Giraffe on wheels

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.

Related articles

• Shake that booty (surrealitywatch.blogspot.com)

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Strange dolls, indeed!

Dr Scops Print by strangedolls
Large format printing by Zazzle

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...

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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!

Related articles

• 'F*ck Me, Ray Bradbury' Girl actually Meets Ray Bradbury!? (geektyrant.com)

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Fighting beauty

Fight Lady iPad case by surrealitee
View more iphone designs

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 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.

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The light of lights

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.

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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 santa by christmasgiftstore

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

(2)

monkey by ljrounds

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

(3)

sUrFiN sAnTa by raycasso

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

(4)

American Gothic Santas Greeting Card by FbodStudios

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

(5)

He Sees You by joekohl

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:

Xmas Mood

Xmas Mood II: Cards with a twist
Santa goes to war

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Sign of the Sacred Chao

Holy Chao ringer shirt by surrealitee

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.

Holy Chao black mousepad by surrealitee

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.

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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)

Playroom_Nightmare[1], Playroom Nightmare, 2011... by paintingmaniac

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

(2)

CHERNOBYL 2011 EN by SPERRZONE

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

(3)

Silent Ghost 2010/2011 Calendar by chimaerastudios

A comic book calendar from Chimaera Studios.

(4)

In the Year 2011 by lizwiil

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

(5)

MID-CENTURY BOOGIE 2011 calendar by LiliChin

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

(6)

Surrealism art calendar 2011 monthly wall calendar by artsgrie

Fantasy meets surrealism in George Grie's magnificent landscapes.

(7)

GRAFFITI 2011 by EMangl

Graffiti and urban art through the lens of Emangl.

(8)

Skeleton Calendar 2011 - Antikamnia - Crucius by VintageCabaret

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

(9)

Dinosaurs Conquering 2011 by tyskkvinna

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

(10)

The Kitsch Bitsch : Living Retro 2011 Calendar by kitschbitsch

Colorful, kitschy retro fun from Kitsch Bitsch.

(11)

arteology 2011 by arteology

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

(12)

Observations From The Urban Landscape 2011 Calenda by DeborahJulianArt

City life and photography. Nice work by Deborah Julian.

(13)

Workers United 2011 calendar by patrimonio by patrimonio

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

(14)

Casey Shannon Studio~ 2011 Calendar by CaseyStudio

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

(15)

2011 Black & White Photography Calendar by RocklawnArts

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!] 

Related articles

• The one (or, maybe, two!) that got away (surrealitywatch.blogspot.com)
• Top 5 Santa greeting cards on Zazzle (surrealitywatch.blogspot.com)
• Top 10 Zazzle Room Designs (surrealitywatch.blogspot.com)

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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.

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Molecular love

MOLECULARTOUCH by HopeAli
More Abstract Bags

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!]

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Going quack to my roots

Quack t-shirt by surrealitee
More Eye T-Shirts

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.

Quack bumper sticker by surrealitee
View more bumper stickers at zazzle

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.

Quack travel mug by surrealitee
More Eye Mugs

For more of my work you can always peruse Surreality or my Surrealitee Design webpage.

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