Persimew Designs - Fine Art On Zazzle

Looking to buy original art and unique designs that can be customised? Persimew Designs on Zazzle has both and is the online gallery I set up for Oliver Tadpole, artist, poet and illustrator. I am a musician and happy with computers, Oliver is an artist and freelance illustrator, but not so computer savvy, so I upload his artwork and my photographs to a Zazzle gallery. As Oliver is fine arts trained, many of his illustrations reflect that.

Intro illustration is by Oliver Tadpole and is used here with his permission. Do not copy.

When I gave Zazzle a go on Oliver's behalf, I discovered how much fun it was to use original art in designing products and even made a few sales. Few artists make a living by selling originals these days, the public hope to buy paintings at a rate far too low to support the artist, but design is a way of making art worthwhile. This illustration is a Tadpole original, it features in the book Tadpoles Illustrated which we first produced in 1986 and recently released again on Lulu. Some of the poems and drawing are a little cheeky, but others I thought would make great designs for shirts, mugs and posters. So two lines were born, Amber Blue and Amber Purple!

This Amber Blue postage stamp would be ideal for weddings or valentines:

Is your scanner large enough for drawings and oil paintings? Most home printer scanners have a maximum size of A4 which means the drawing itself would need to be smaller. Most artists prefer to work big and reduce for better image quality. An A3 colour scanner is a must, so check that your choice has a colour option!

As a general rule of thumb, creative people create and sales people sell. As a musician and poet I am far more interested in the creation than the fee, but we need to live so I am learning to sell.

Oliver Tadpole is even less business minded than I am. He will, like many artists, paint over an absolutely beautiful picture because he sees the mistakes he made! These mistakes may well be invisible to us, but not to him, it is for this reason that he prefers to be known by his stage name with respect to our Zazzle partnership and I respect his decision.

Need a cute hedgehog calendar for instance?

Check out Old Guthram's Almanac!

Old Guthram's Almanac is issued new every year and has given birth to a whole range of mugs! The first one has the same cover illustration and a vital message on the reverse side....

Then there are the months of the year! Each hedgehog picture has been used to create a wrap around hedgehog design that is just superb for birthdays and other occasions. Check out the Halloween October mug!

Birthday coming soon?

We even have a hedgehog mug for every month of the year!

Outrageously funny graphics from Oliver!

Oliver Tadpole's sense of humour came into play when he drew a series of stills for a music video I wanted to make for Laetitia's Veil, a fun composition I needed to showcase. The remit I gave was unusual bellydancers. The outrageous camel has proved the most popular so far! It is a best seller for Tadpole on Zazzle.

A camel T shirt can come in any shape, size or color. These aspects of design are up to you on Zazzle!

We have sold Camel stickers, postcards, you name it! Clicking on any of these pictures will take you to the store where you can browse other bellydancing designs and products and even customize with your own message!

Cats in Art and Design

A full range of stunning products designed from beautiful Persian portraits. Mugs, mousemats, shirts, stamps and cards as well as prints and posters. Check out A Persian Glow for the Goth in your family, A Study in Lilac for the girl who loves pink and fluffy and Blue Max, a vibrant and dramatic design based on my blue Persian boy! Why not take a look?

The Latest from Persimew Designs

Firstly, for those of a pink, fluffy, girly disposition, what sweeter than "All Things Warm and Fuzzy"? This customizable card features a rough and tumble of adorable Persians on a flaming dragon throw in warm glowing colours!

Then we have the inevitable Camel - this time on a binder proclaiming Happy Hump Day! Just what you need to get a few smiles going in the office!

Of course, with digital cameras and computers you don't need to be an illustrator to make your mark on Zazzle. You can use photos you took on holiday. You can make personalised gifts for family and friends with snaps of animals or loved ones. The choice is yours, and you really don't have to sell if you don't want to, you can make your own private projects. I turned some of my holiday pictures into product lines though and happily sold items!

Tadpole still loves his Pentax. Me? I love the way digital photography allows me to break rules, photograph at night, photograph the sun through trees... All things that were once the personal domain of the top class professional are now within our grasp if only we have the imagination!

Being bold, brazen and creative 1980s style....

Love it or hate it, you can alter your photos, mix them, pastiche and collage them, add text to images, add colours to black and white - the possibilities are endless. My Lady of Shalott design puts some of these into play in a very 1980s record sleeve type of design. I think it looks well as a poster or a T-shirt but only time and the market will tell!

Please tell us about it in the guestbook!