Mysterious monkey

How about the coolest monkey illustration for your iPhone 4 skin? The simian dude is smartly dressed, smokes his cigarette and wears his sunglasses even amidst the nocturnal ambiance of this surrealistically noir painting. The artist is Michael Cook of Cookies Fortune, where animals tend to behave in all kinds of unexpected ways!

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Mr.Wolf & Mr.Tapir

Mr. Wolf's Dinner Suit by Squirrell
make your own custom t-shirt at zazzle

Mr.Wolf is slowly dressing himself for dinner in this hilarious t-shirt from Squirrell. There is a smart, subtle sense of humor in the way this artist perceives the world. Sometimes sweet and tender, sometimes with darker undertones but always with graceful intelligence. The animal cartoons are top-notch!

Tapir by Squirrell
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Plus, this may well be the only place in the web where you may find one of the most under-represented animals in the universe of apparel design: a tapir! Indeed, it's such a gentle drawing that makes you feel sad for all those run-of-the-mill animal shirts out there. They don't know what they're missing!

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Kilkenny cat's luck

Lucky on a Bike by kilkennycat
Browse Penny Posters

This cat's expression cracks me up -as though seeing a cat holding a clover and riding a penny-farthing wasn't enough.
Creative folk art, with reccuring strange and humorous themes, drawn by Ryan Conners for her Kilkeny Cat store. This striking cat character appears in quite a few drawings (and rightfully so, if you ask me!).
If posters and printed products isn't your thing, you may find Ryan's original artwork on her Etsy store.

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Crash test drinking and cow abductees

Drink Test Dummy by paintingmaniac
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A crash test dummy drinks it off in a bar, while a duck solemnly watches. Is this an unusual painting to put on an iPad case? It may be, and it makes me like it all the more because of this. It has an eerie, surreal mood -and I just love the painted palm trees in the bar stool!
Welcome to the wonderful, strange world of Leah Saulnier, an extraordinary artist with a keen eye for weird themes that mix dreamlike situations with a subtle sense of humor. Her colors are astonishing and the concepts she comes up with, make me jealous!

Alien Transport System by paintingmaniac
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The alien school bus abducting a cow is another one of my (many) favorites of her amazing store. When it comes to creating beauty from over the top ideas, she's the absolute queen of the show. Let's not forget that she created one of my favorite 2011 calendars as well -behold the link below. Leah, you rule!

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A dog to rest your mouse on

Dog ~ Dogs Canine Pup Puppy Cartoon by caferetro
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This upbeat mousepad made my day. I like the way the puppy cartoon follows the pad's form and the big black shape of the ear that gets cut off: it gives the design a funny bottled look while keeping the essence of...dogness!
I found this sweet and cheerful at ZoomWear and I'm sure it'll look nice on any desk.

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Message to the goddess

The Messenger by lynnetteshelley
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In this poster I see an attractive combination of folk art and Greek-Orthodox iconography (the flat background, the stylized muscles and golden elements are some of the characteristics of Byzantine religious art). Yet, instead of the introversion and the austerity of forms there is so much sweetness expressed in the lady's face and the bird!
Madonna, female deity or an expression of femininity? It doesn't matter... What matters is the quiet beauty of this painting made and offered by Lynnette Shelley, a great painter and illustrator from Philadelphia. Her rich, imaginative colors and shapes are outstanding.

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Remembering Gilda

All of a sudden I missed Gilda Radner, that comedy genius of Saturday Night Live's first glorious years. I remembered this song and I thought I should share... Bless you, Gilda.

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Cats as cats can

Cat Washing Bottom by Squirrell
Browse Zazzle for another teezazzle.com

Why cats do that? Well, because they can! A funny and sweet illustration of cattitude that matches perfectly  the color of this t-shirt, by the hands of Squirrell (yeah, I know how this sounds...).

Squirrell's is a great shop to be when looking for humorous, wacky and imaginative pet designs.
Seeing is believing so here's a little something for those who prefer dogs -the superhero kind:

Hero by Squirrell
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See? Told ya this shop's great, didn't I?

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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.

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Funky flatulence

funk dog mug by markdamrel
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Would you put your mouth near a dog expelling intestinal gas? Well, if you're a surrealism-loving person and the said dog is this funky mug created by Mark Damrel (an architect and great artist) then you might just do it. Of course, having a sense of humour and an eye for great b/w design helps a lot!

So, go ahead and tastefully freak out your family/friends/colleagues -and be safe in the knowledge that it would take the right kind of person to borrow your mug. See, that's the beauty of following Surreality Watch!

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Time for something fishy

Shells Collection by FishTs.com by FishTsdotcom
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When it comes to designs and products about fishing, fishes and nautical activities, FishT's is the king. The variety of sea goodies found in this shop is amazing. You may find lots of stylish things here, as this fine, nautilus tote bag comes to prove.

Loving Freedivin by FishTs.com by FishTsdotcom
Design a customized tee shirt using zazzle

Summer is a freediver's paradise and a good time to show off with this yellow t-shirt, or you could just hang around with a remarkable largemouth head exploding on your back like a crazed maritime alien -well, I can't help but noticing the surreal side of things!

Largemouth Head by FishTs.com by FishTsdotcom
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If sea is your thing, give FishT's a break and you'll be pleasantly  surprised.

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Monkey business

Whatever by matthewdunnart
Create a custom tshirt on zazzle

A monkey girl (70s styled) looks at a guinea pig: a cultural mashup in pink! This exquisite piece of work comes from Matthew Dunn, an artist with great ideas and a strange sense of humor -just what the doctor ordered!

Most Days Are Just About Doin' Your Best To Get By by matthewdunnart
View more Matthew T-Shirts

His art is strongly based on comics (just look at the camera angle of this design!) but doesn't stop exploring new styles and concepts. I love his illustrations, his colors and -most of all- his surreal view on things!

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The raven and the kraken

Raven Playing the Victrola by crankcase
Browse Ghosts T-Shirts

There is a Poe-ish charm in this strange design, that I find irresistible. A raven plays a old Victrola phonograph producing ghosts, skulls and hearts (the tell-tale kind, I presume!). This is just a small taste of what is available at the Crankcase shop,  the place where Mark Beagle offers his art on t-shirts and hoodies. His work consists of a unique blend of modern and vintage elements, backed up by strong and surreal concepts.

Don't Wake the Kraken by crankcase
Design personalized t-shirts using zazzle

The "Don't wake the Kraken" is another one of my favorites -I can't resist this mixture of maritime beasties and piracy coolness! Mark combines humor, horror themes and weird Victorian imagery in a way that captures your imagination and makes you smile. Kudos, Mr.Beagle!

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What's "E" for

'E is for elephant ' digital painting print by bestkids
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Well, it's quite obvious: E is for Elephant. A pop-art, polka-dotted elephant with a cute tail, found on Best Kids store. Man, do I love those colors!
Best Kids offer a great variety of designs with children in mind, but I'm not too old to rock'n'roll yet, so I decided I'm on their target group. Plus, I'm begging for their "M is for Murder" version!

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Chess revisited: The playful cat

Chess Cat postcard by lodgehouse
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This vintage painting combines cats and chess -two of mankind's favorites in a single artful postcard. I wonder if the depicted feline concentrates on it's next move...Anyway, it's only one of the eight "Naughty Cats" available at Lodgehouse, although I believe it's the more intriguing of the series.There is a sense of hidden menace in here -or maybe I am biased by the cat's predatory nature.
Some may find this cute, I find it both cute and disquieting. You can't beat that, now, can you?

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Dogs in space

Space Dog by atomic50s
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The first animal to orbit the Earth was Laika -who died an untimely death several hours after the launch of Sputnik 2, way back in 1957. She was one of the soviet space dogs (Americans preferred monkeys and mice). During the early years of the space age, before manned space missions were attempted, these animals captured our collective imagination.
Science fiction had already paved the way for what came to be seen as obvious: if mankind was to reach the stars, our best friend would be wagging it's tail by our side. Such an optimistic innocence carries a distinct taste of the '50s. This is the zeitgeist explored in the Atomic50s shop, and that's where I found this tender design of a dog in space uniform. A cute little cartoon, that looks great in this hooded sweatshirt, simple and expressive.

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Wild bunnies

If Bunnies Had Dentures by KLAATUWI
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I had never thought about it: what if bunnies had dentures like these? They may be all smiles now, but I'm pretty sure that, sooner or later, strange -and possibly violent- things could happen! Thanks to this weird and funny mug by Michael Dodge (aka KLAATUWI), we are forewarned.
Michael, an imaginative doodler, has a sense of humor I really like!

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Rare breed

ADOPT A RESCUED DOG! by papelustro
Browse more Dogs Postcards

What a postcard! This design amazes me. It manages to be surreal, humorous, tender and gorgeous at the same time. Seems based in the finest tradition of graphic design (some '40s and '50s styles come to mind) and I do wish you have friends who will appreciate receiving such a work of art.
The artist is Belinha Fernandes from Portugal, her store is named Papelustro and everyone crazy enough to follow this blog will be more than happy to go there and take a look!
Here's another favorite:

POSTCARD INTERNATIONAL DAY... by papelustro
Make a Full color postcard on zazzle

She is great with collage but doesn't stop there: her overall designing abilities are diverse and always interesting -as I found by visiting Belinha's cool blog.

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Hairy slothy

slothy by brettisagirl
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This is the absolute king of taking it slow. Sloths, the slow-moving, low-metabolism mammals that live in rainforests, inspired Brett Manning to showcase her abilities (and her fine attention to detail) with pens in this great design. She's at her best depicting hairy, rootsy, entangled images, while keeping a sense of lightness and balance.
Take a look at this one:

twisted tree by brettisagirl
See more Tree Keds Shoes

A great shoe design and an inventive transformation of natural elements into a bizarre (and extremely appealing) fashion item. All this and more, from her store BrettIsAGirl.
Oh, and don't forget to visit Brett's website for more illustration magic (plus some great lettering!).

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International Meowism

Chairman Meow! Outlined by obeythepurebreed
View more Cat T-Shirts

A sincere tribute to loving pets or playfully ironic pop art? I vote for the second but I guess both could be true in the case of this really clever -and well-done- design offered by Obey the Pure Breed, a shop dedicated to the worthy cause of animal world domination.
There is a huge niche for pet stuff in the market. Some of it is downright tasteless. This is not the case with this gallery, though, as this t-shirt comes to prove. I guarantee you it's not the only one. They make smart, funny, strange, iconic designs that defy the obvious and are a pure pleasure to use or to wear.
[I wonder, could there be a Chairman Meow's Little Red Book?]
There is also a great site to visit, full of animal propaganda nuttiness (all for the benefit of the Revolution, of course!)

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