Seth Fried enjoys Matt Cipov

We all know Etsy as the site where our more fashion forward friends go to buy handmade clothing. These same friends usually end up talking about said clothing more than they actually wear it (their assumption being that their vegan riding jacket is interesting to anyone other than themselves and the weirdo who took the time to make it). When these friends start showing up to parties wearing polka dot fleece ponchos, it doesn’t take long before you start to realise that the only real appeal of Etsy-made clothing is that it’s fun to get stuff in the mail.

However, Etsy also boasts an online art scene that’s been gaining steam over the past few years. If you’re willing to dig a little, you can pick up some awesome original art by young and emerging artists for relatively cheap. This is of particular advantage if, like me, you’re stranded in a small town in the American midwest where “Art” is just the name of your manager at the paper mill.

Naturally, the art pages of Etsy aren’t without their own pitfalls. There are plenty of glass dolphins, wistful-looking Indian Chiefs painted on velvet, and all that sort of schlock-art which is so bad it’s almost great. But, there are also a lot of people who are pretty talented.

One artist I’ve been enjoying lately is Matt Cipov

Cipov has a great series of people wearing animal masks, which I find, for whatever reason, boundlessly entertaining. Whenever I see somebody with a tattoo, I am immediately disappointed that it’s not of this:

Cipov’s prints are dirt cheap, usually running under 10 bucks in his Etsy store. Though, a man giving you the ok sign from behind a giant hippo mask would probably be a steal at any price.

Seth Fried is a crazy-talented young writer and contributor to VICE. He was featured in our Fiction Issue.