beastlies

etsy shop: Beastlies
listing: Otis the Beastlie
artist: Leslie

From the item description:

Otis says, "BLAAAAAARGGH." And he doesn't say much else, really. But once you get to know him, you can tell with reasonable accuracy what he means just by the inflections he puts into it. It's a bit odd, but it works.

And he's pretty nice, too.

I'm rather impressed that these curious, original, one-of-a-kind creatures sell for between 12 and 15 dollars and 5 dollars shipping.

constantdreamer

etsy store: Constant Dreamer
listing: Giraffe Print
artist: Shaylind Standing

The first line in the "description" field of this etsy store item made me laugh, "This giraffe would probably eat that flower if he had a mouth." Funny, yet so sad. Judging from body language, the giraffe is quite interested in this unique flower that equals the height of the giraffe. Certainly, this giraffe rarely sees such a treat. The flower is painted in such a way that it's almost turning to the giraffe and saying, "I dare you to eat me. Ha! You can't!" This notion reaches to emotions of need, greed, desire through the playful interaction of a giraffe and a flower.

Visually, it's a smart composition following elements of the rule of thirds. And the rough background texture serves as an excellent contrast the simple geometric forms of the subject matter.

From Shaylind's etsy bio:

I have a BFA from the College of Visual Arts in Saint Paul, Minnesota. I am always exploring the connection between my formal art education and the art from my childhood. My work encompasses childlike simplicity on a more complex foundation.

When I'm not being the Mama or creating things, I'm probably reading or playing videogames (currently Oblivion and BioShock on XBox360 and Zelda Majora's Mask on GameCube).

It's cool how she lists the video games she plays.