Most alien abduction pictures follow a script. A dark field, a farmhouse, a cow lifting off the ground. Space Lizards keeps the beam and the saucer and changes everything else. The one being taken up is a small pale lizard, and the sky it rises into is a full cosmic scene. It is the newest piece in the Kiyo Arts catalogue, and it is one of the most fun.
What is in the picture
A flying saucer hangs across the middle of a tall frame. Its underside is dark and studded with tiny lights, and a single bright point glows at its centre. From that point a wide beam of pale blue light falls to the bottom edge of the picture.
Halfway up the beam is the lizard. It is pale cream, almost white, with dark spots, and it is drawn with its legs spread and its tail curling below it, as if it is floating, or swimming up through the light. It does not look frightened. It looks curious.
Around the saucer, the sky is anything but empty. Clouds lit in burnt orange and gold rise on both sides, and between them is deep blue space full of stars. In the top right corner sits a black eclipse with a ring of cold blue-white light around it. Warm cloud on one side, cold eclipse on the other: the whole scene is built on that contrast.
Why it works
A joke told straight
The idea is funny. A lizard being abducted is not what anyone expects. But the picture does not play it as a cartoon. The sky is rich and detailed, the saucer is solid and the light looks real. Because the scene is taken seriously, the joke lands better, and the piece holds up after the first laugh.
One strong line
The beam is a triangle that runs from the centre of the saucer to the bottom of the frame. It pulls your eye straight down to the lizard and then back up to the ship. That simple shape is why the piece reads clearly from across a room, and also why it survives being shrunk down to a pin or a keychain.
Warm and cold
The orange cloud makes the blue beam look colder and brighter, and the dark sky makes both glow. If you like art that looks lit from within, this is that kind of piece.
Where it belongs
- A game room or battlestation. Sci-fi with a sense of humour, and the blue and orange suit RGB lighting.
- A teen's or kid's room. A lizard on an adventure is easy to love, and it doesn't feel babyish.
- A reptile keeper's space. If there is a gecko or bearded dragon in the house, this is the poster for the wall above the tank.
- A dorm or first apartment. One bold piece that starts conversations.
For more on the space side of the catalogue, read black holes and wormholes: the science behind space art and astronauts in art.
Every format
- Poster: museum-grade archival matte paper, which keeps the stars and the dark sky crisp.
- Framed poster: a solid wood frame in black or white with an acrylic cover. Black suits the dark sky. See black frame or white frame.
- Canvas: stretched on a 1.25 inch pine frame, no glass, so the glow of the beam has no glare on it.
- Desk mat: a wide crop of the saucer, the orange clouds and the eclipse, made for a desk setup.
- Graphic tee: the full scene on 100% ring-spun cotton, a good choice for anyone who likes a UFO shirt with a twist.
- Pin and keychain: small, but the beam and the lizard still read clearly.
Not sure which wall format to pick? Canvas vs poster vs framed poster walks through the differences.
As a gift
Space Lizards is an easy present for a sci-fi fan, a reptile lover or anyone who likes art with a sense of humour. The tee, pin and keychain are good smaller gifts; the canvas or framed poster makes a statement.
Every piece is made to order, so allow 2 to 7 business days for production before it ships. See the rest of the cosmic catalogue in space and galaxy wall art.