What is a dog, if not a fluffy, walking canvas? That seems to be the mindset of competitive dog groomers. Photographer Ren Netherland (previously featured here) is still traveling around the United States taking awesome canine portraits at creative dog grooming competitions. We’re still impressed by just how many characters or creatures a groomer is able to include on one dog thanks to careful dyeing and shearing.

Why settle for simply transforming a dog into Yoda when you can make one end look like Yoda and the other end look like an Ewok? And just how many different Sesame Street characters can you fit on a single dog?

“It takes two intense hours for the groomers to produce their masterpieces before facing judges. Mr Netherland said: ‘The owners have to grow out their dog’s hair in preparation for the show - so that it’s long enough for them to make something. They train and rehearse throughout the year in preparation for the competition, whittling their creation down to a fine art.

‘The best thing for spectators is that when the poodles fist come onto the stage, they just look like normal poodles. Suddenly they are transformed before your eyes into something colourful and completely different. The dogs seem to enjoy the pampering and all the attention.’”

Visit Ren Netherland’s website to view more of his fascinating photos.

[via Laughing Squid and Neatorama]

Artist Hillary White (previously featured here) has created an extensive and completely awesome series of paintings, entitled Pop Reinterpretation, for which she beautifully recreates painting by the Old Masters depicting a wide variety of pop culture icons in place of the original subjects.

R2-D2 becomes Francois-Xavier Fabre’s Portrait Of A Man, Kermit the Frog becomes Frans Hals’ Portrait of a Young Woman, Optimus Prime becomes Anthony Van Dyck’s Self Portrait With Sunflower, and so on.

Hillary has painted so many of these wonderful portraits, it’s an almost unbearably awesome accomplishment. If you like these even half as much as we do, check out the entire Pop Reinterpretation gallery to see the rest.

[via HiConsumption]

It’s Pop Art Meets High Art on Geyser of Awesome!

RBKCreations is a mother and daughter team in Dallas, Texas who design and create bouquets, boutonnières, and other wedding/bridal accessories using felt, satin, and buttons. Their creations are all fun and colourful, but what really grabbed our attention were the pop culture-themed sets featuring characters from video games like Super Mario Bros. and Angry Birds or the incredibly awesome set of bouquets made for a Muppet-themed wedding. 

[via Neatorama]

More wonderfully whimsical street art by French artist OaKoAK (previously featured here), who likes to play with existing elements of the urban landscape, often making surprisingly small alterations or enhancements to achieve striking results, enabling us to see the world through his eyes.

“Using simple means and materials, OakOak undermines his neighborhood with playful results. He uses a minimal amount of actual original artwork, instead re-purposing signs, facades, cement blocks, chipping paint, and more.  OakOak transforms a neighborhood’s imperfections into its own adornments. “

He says of his interventions:

“The less I intervene on the wall or the road, the better, especially if I can totally change the sense of the urban environment.” 

[via Beautiful Decay]

Just when we thought we’d seen the creepiest Bert and Ernie cosplay ever along comes this truly frightening pair. Not only are they dressed up as Bert and Ernie might appear in real life, they also appear to be elderly, which adds a whole new unsettling dimension to the mix. We are impressed. Acutely unsettled, yes, but also undeniably impressed.

Redditor ProbableCause spotted the geriatric muppets come to life walking around this year’s Dragon*Con in Atlanta, Georgia. If you end up having nightmares because of their awesome cosplay efforts, please know that we’ll almost certainly be suffering right along with you.

[via Geekologie]

This Airedale terrier’s coat has been groomed and decorated to resemble not just one, but a whole assortment of characters from The Muppets, including Kermit, Gonzo, Animal, and Miss Piggy. Photographer Ren Netherland has travelled across the US to conventions that showcase creative dog grooming.

We aren’t sure which part is most unsettling: the fact that Gonzo’s nose is the dog’s tail or that Miss Piggy is missing her distinctive snout altogether. As dog grooming goes, this is a pretty awesome spectacle.

[via Telegraph.co.uk]

David Choe, DVS-1, and Joseph To collaborated on these incredibly awesome pieces of street art in Denver, CO for the Terminal Kings project at the Denver International Airport.

See more at Arrested Motion!

“The Sesame Street muppets join the picket lines of the Occupy Wall Street protest in this doctored photo series byTauntr.”

[via Laughing Squid]