His new book is The Pet Dragon, and it is -- like all of the best Niemann -- astute, funny, and really damn smart.

Here's something a little unusual, to get your week started off on the right foot.

I've already showcased my fondness for illustrator, New York Times blogger, and pixel-enthusiast Cristoph Niemann here on BlogLESS, so maybe it will come as no surprise that I really like the so-called New York Cheat Sheets at his Abstract City blog. Here's a brilliant example:

I wish everybody I knew would detail their day-to-day procedures like like this. Something about reading these is like hearing somebody blurt out a secret that we had all agreed to keep, but that, upon hearing it, nobody remembers why exactly it was a secret in the first place.

Illustrator and author Cristoph Niemann, in his New York Times blog on Thursday, unveiled his incredible journey through pixelated modern art, in his attempt to — get ready — tile his bathroom. We strongly encourage you to read the entire process.

For my part, I must say, I think I might have chosen Hockney's Pool with Two Figures for the shower:

Portrait of an Artist: Pool with two figures by David Hockney, as rendered in pixels by Cristoph Niemann

That said, I unequivocally applaud his bathtub choice, which he brilliantly reappropriates from one of my all-time favorite artists, Joseph Beuys:

Fettecke by Joseph Beuys, as rendered in pixels by Cristoph Niemann.