Friday, November 28, 2014

Adult fun


Dear fellow earthlings,

The O'Brien gets a lot of junk mail, much of it in the form of pitches on account of my association with the publishing industry. I gloss over most of it--press releases outlining how Good TV meets crowdfunding and the offers to interview the world's most famous cat or a fall fantasy preview of some spa in Florida. This, however, got my attention:

Trendsetting: Dot-to-Dot books for adults on NYT bestseller list. Satisfying the inner child and adult intellect all at once ... Retro rage ...

The press release offered a free review copy. So I thought, what the hell? and replied to the addy. I didn't think more about it. After all, who's going to send a nobody blogger like me a cool dot-to-dot book? Right? 

Wrong.

: )

Portraits by a thousand dots and associated display can

They sent me the Icons book, which is gorgeous and over-sized with french flaps for easily finding your page. There are 20 portraits to trace, from Madonna to Nelson Mandela. Yes, they all have 1000 dot points. Yes, the numbers are tiny. No, I did not even think of using an ink pen.

Emerging Dali and associated display puzzle

Since I have two Dali jigsaws, I started with ol' Sal. I'm figgerin' on doing the Warhol next since I have a Warhol puzzle and long-long time readers of the Owner's Manual know I've been using a Warhol Campell's Soup can as a size reference ever since I've been posting photos on the ol' blog. Then maybe I do the Michael Jackson ... or the Elvis ... or the Hitchcock.

People, this is just fun.

The pages tear out for easy sharing around the dorm lounge. Artist Thomas Pavitte also offers up a dot-to-dot animal book and one of great cities.

What sets these unique pencil games apart is that you get a little closer to Pavitte's artistic method--you are literally tracing his work, but in that fun dot-to-dot way. You begin to understand his use of the simple line to create full-bodied portraits, so much so that you almost feel his creative drive.

Buy this one for the crossword/sudoku/word-finder nut and stuff it in their stocking along with a fresh package of Ticonderogas. For less than 20 bucks, you cannot go wrong.

Now if that isn't the best Black Friday tip you're going to get anywhere, I just don't know what.


Humble hostess and completed Dali dot-to-dot portrait


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4 comments:

DogsDontPurr said...

I love this!!
Although, I must admit when I first read "Dot to Dot for Adults," my mind went someplace else entirely. Ha!

But still...what a very cool idea. It looks like it would be very meditative. Sort of like Paint-by-Numbers (which I also love!), but without the mess. I may have to order a copy.

DogsDontPurr said...

They also have one on Masterpieces. It's got Frida Kahlo, Klimt, Picasso, etc. I absolutely HAD to get that one!

Thanks for the tip. Love it!

Elisson said...

I love dis.

Jasica said...

I must say that the post are really nice & creative. loved it.... adult fun