Maleficent

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

Maleficent, abstract art by Amy Crook

Maleficent, abstract art by Amy Crook

Maleficent has a texture like layers of scales carved by the pen into the painted surface. The painstaking detail invites closer examination, especially in the different ways in which the paint mixed with the red ink to add an extra layer of color along with the surface finish.

This painting is named after the villain’s dragon form in the original Disney Sleeping Beauty, majestic and powerful but still, in her heart, flawed. You can see that flaw under the scales, almost the exact shape of the crack in the universe from Doctor Who.

Some of you followed along on Instagram during the week I spent working on this piece (hi!), so now you can see it in all its strange, obsessive glory. I keep wanting to run my finger over it, but I resist, because I don’t want to turn my fingers purple, or ruin the painting by accident.

Maleficent, 6″x4″ pen & ink and Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.

Maleficent, detail, by Amy Crook

Maleficent, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the texture, and the furrows the pen made as it pressed into the painted surface. I had to re-draw some of the arcs half a dozen times to get the effect I wanted, because the pen was constantly getting clogged with paint it picked up from the paper. Below, you can see it in a frame with my phone. It’s wee! So wee, and so painstakingly detailed.

Maleficent, framed art by Amy Crook

Maleficent, framed art by Amy Crook

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Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of
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