Fun series of charcoal drawings from Xiau-Fong Wee.
Happy Chinese New Year. 2012 is the year of the dragon.
Monkey with facial hair? Staudinger Franke knows how to please.
Brodie’s 2011 ChetArt Holiday Shopping Guide
First, a bit about me:
8 year old rescued male orange tabby
Official ChetArt mascot
Lives with: 2 sentient cat food dispensers and female gray tabby Lily
Hobbies: Extreme sleeping, gecko hunting and watching insurance commercials
As the days grow colder and approach the holiday season, fewer and fewer geckos are to be found. Due to this frustrating lack of hunting opportunities, I grudgingly turn to my duties of gift recommendations from the ChetArt online shop. Here you will find an abundance of gift ideas for every member of the family.
For him:
Choose from a variety of outrageous monkey portraits, flavored both Steampunk and Sinister. If your guy digs the comic books, then consider Chet’s tongue-in-cheek interpretation of Victorian Steampunk superheroes and villains with the Union of Superlative Heroes and Order of Nefarious Villains. My personal favorite?…. Feline Fräulein, Mee-yow! Available as individual portraits, card sets and an awesome, hand bound limited edition book. Also check out his large assortment of Tiki portraits. There’s even a special two-fer listing to brighten up his Tiki bar or man cave.
For her:
The ever expanding series of cats (and dogs) as personalities from the literary, artistic and musical realms is sure to have one of your favorites. With the likes of F. Scott Fetchgerald, Harpurr Lee (mmmmm, mockingbird…), G.R.R. Tolkien, Labrador Dali, Corgi O’Keeffe, Mutt Jagger, Janhiss Joplin and Michael Catson the list keeps going of fun portraits to gift. Chet also has a huge assortment of humorous cat (and dog) portraits as well as a series of Japanese Styled pet portraits. My personal favorite is this portrait of me doing what I do best.
For the kids:
Nothing fills a rainy afternoon or snowy holiday break better than getting lost working on a coloring book. (O.K., maybe sleeping 12 hours is better.) The Monkey Color! coloring book fits the bill for offering a creative challenge alongside simian silliness. For kids and adults alike, the Monkey Memory Match game will both challenge your memory and give you a craving for bananas.
Stocking Stuffers:
Give the affordable gift of trading card sets, each with both a collection of whimsical portraits and funny biographies for each. Cat (and dog) artists, authors and musicians, Steampunk Monkeys, Society of Sinister Simians, World War Monkeys, Superlative Heroes and Nefarious Villains all await to fill the imaginations and force out a chuckle. Trouble holding down your banana peels? Consider the monkey paper weight, created with hand stitched leather.
Books:
Browse through a selection of hand made limited edition books sprinkled throughout almost every section of the shop. With Superlative Heroes/Nefarious Villains, Tikis, Sinister Simians, Wrestle Pets, Mysterious Circumstances and Googie signs, there’s bound to be a perfect gift for the reader. Sadly, no field guides for hunting geckos.
Seasonal Gifts:
Spoiler alert!: The Mayans predict our collective litter boxes will be cleaned for good next year. Why not enjoy a bit of visual fun, displayed on your wall or desk with the Literary Pets wall calendar (4 postcards included!) or the Wrestle Pets and Monkey Business desk calendars. It’s not too late to send those holiday cards out either. Consider the lighthearted and colorful “Penguin Jingle Bell” card pack of 6.
Some time back we launched our first limited edition book titled “Woodland Wisdom,” a collection of illustrations depicting time-honored Aesop’s fables. I added the slight twist of including my take on the proverbs in the form of haiku poetry. The edition successfully sold out and by recently re-visiting the artwork, decided to release them as individually signed prints.
Posted above is “The Two Goats.”
Dire stubborn stalemate.
A backdrop of deadly height.
Pride creates long fall.
You can find the rest of the series within this section of the online shop.
The ChetArt booth set up and ready to go, moments before the doors opened to throngs of shoppers at this year’s Etsy Dallas “Jingle Bash” show.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by to visit and shop at yesterday’s 4th Annual “Jingle Bash” show sponsored by Etsy. We experienced a solid round of shopping all day long. Though it felt like sales were equal from past shows, at the end of the day we surpassed all other past Etsy Dallas events by almost double the success. Couldn’t have done it without so many friendly and supportive local shoppers.
It was great fun having good friends stop by to show their support and meet and make a whole new set of friends. The sale of a “Simon and Barkfunkle” signed print was one particularly fun standout moment. The buyer has plans to gift the print to her good friends…Paul Simon and his wife Edie Brickell.
A big thank you goes out to Thrillist for the great shout out today.
A sample of ChetArt characters proudly displaying their Movember support.
During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces, in the US and around the world. With their Mo’s, these men raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men. Learn more here.
Now available in the online shop, the 2012 Wrestle Pets 2012 Desk Calendar. CD Calendar Case Design. Pages are contained within a CD case, which flips open to easily display on a desk, table or any other flat surface. 12 individual, one-sided pages for each month. Each month’s page measures 5.4″ x 4.65″ Printed in vivid Lucha Libre color on 51 lb, Ultra Premium Presentation Matte paper.
Originating from tiny villages dotted across the landscape of Mexico, a roguish band of scrappy fighters come together and are trained in the ring. These mighty and honorable warriors live by a simple creed… Live to fight and fight to live! Showcased within the calendar are such personalities as “La Princesa del Dolor” (Princess of Pain), “El Perro Caliente” (The Hot Dog), “La Muerte Rosa” (The Pink Death), “El Gato Loco” (The Crazy Cat) plus 8 more. Individual signed portrait prints as well as a limited edition signed book of all 20 characters are also available.
“I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s…..His hair was perfect.”
~ Warren Zevon- “Werewolves of London”
Happy Halloween!
Twelve monkey and ape illustrations to guide you through an entire year of monkey business. CD Calendar Case Design. Pages are contained within a CD case, which flips open to easily display on a desk, table or any other flat surface.
12 individual, one-sided pages for each month. Each month’s page measures 5.4″ x 4.65″ Printed in vivid techna-monkey color on 51 lb, Ultra Premium Presentation Matte paper.
The Musical Pets card set showcases a collection of 20 musical legends transformed into dogs and cats. A variety of music genres are represented throughout history that includes classical, jazz, soul, rock, country, reggae, opera and new wave.
Each card measures 2 1/4″ x 4″ on sturdy 14 pt.cover stock and presents a full color portrait on one side with biographical information on the reverse. Also included in the set: George Grrshwin, Buddy Howly, The Beagles, Bruce Springersteen Spaniel, Mutt Jagger, Michael Catson plus 14 more!
Sit Down To Stand Up For Kids: Little Chairs For a Big Cause is Etsy Dallas’ first charity event. If you’re in the Dallas area, mark your calendars for Thursday, October 13th and join in on the fun of a silent auction with food, drinks and music. It’s all for a great cause, as 22 artists will offer up their creative take on the miniature chair design of David Patton. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. (Event announcement design above created by Anna.)
Click the newspaper article below to enlarge for the details.
Ruth Marten has her way with 18th century engravings, transforming them into something really special.
Cedric Laquieze takes flower arranging to a whole new level.
A great selection of screen prints can be found on Atlanta based graphic designer and illustrator Mark Weaver’s site.
Edouard Martinet creates beautiful sculptures from found parts of insects, fish and birds.
Just released- the 2012 Literary Pets wall calendar. This dual month display design is printed on sturdy 100 lb glossy cover stock with each month’s page measuring 9″ x 12.” Includes such fur-faced literary luminaries as G.R.R. Tolkien, Kurt Vonnemutt, Laura Bengal Wilder, H.P. Lovecat plus 8 more.
As an extra added bonus, the back page of the calendar offers 4 full color 4.25″ x 6″ postcards. Trim them out and mail your final thoughts to a friend before the Mayan prophecy delivers the ultimate smack down.
A new image filter from Photoshop known as “Fractalius” can create some interesting photo effects, such as the above “Electric Fuzz” by Steve Owen. View tutorials and more examples Here. (The filter’s name sounds like a fictional Battlestar Galactica planet located in the Fubar galaxy.)
