Series and Books « Antemortem Arts | Fine Art & Custom Paintings

Archive for the ‘Series and Books’ Category

Blue Planet 4

Friday, May 4th, 2012

Blue Planet 4, watercolor by Amy Crook, $222

Here we are at the end of both our week and the series, and you can see now the interesting secret of this particular mix of paints. Rather than floating to the top edges, the iridescent green paint sinks to the bottom and then the ultramarine settles in on top of it in a rather unsteady marriage. The blue is denser in the middle because it settles there as the day goes on, not because the green is on top. With this paper more than the black, the iridescent paint prevented the salt from bonding to the paper itself so the crystals just formed on top, and a little bit of rubbing pulled away both the salt and the blue paint it was adhered to, leaving us with a fascinating crackled surface at the center.

Like all the salt pieces, this one’s the most interesting if you pick it up and play with it in the sunlight. The blue paint is really very matte and opaque, so the cracks where the green shines through are especially interesting.

Blue Planet 4, salt and watercolor on paper, $222 framed, with free shipping.

Blue Planet 4, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see all the rich, subtle variations in color, from the edge-in fade to the sharp crackles where the salt and paint flaked away in the center. Below, the piece is safely tucked into its frame, so the remaining salt, well, remains.

Blue Planet 4, framed art by Amy Crook, $222

If you’d like to talk about a payment plan for this piece — or even the whole series — you can email me and I’ll happily work something out.

Tags: blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books, Shop - Abstract and Just Plain Weird | 1 Comment »

Blue Planet 2

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012

Blue Planet 2, watercolor by Amy Crook

Of all the Blue Planets, this one is a bit like the control in the group. I didn’t have the issues I did with the first one because I very sneakily put the paper on a small plate, so all its edges were raise and the big pool stayed pooled in the center. I didn’t make tentacles, or use a different paper (that’s tomorrow’s). It’s just a simple abstract idea of a blue-green planet floating serenely in the star-studded blackness.

I really like how each of the stars is its own tiny echo of the planet, with salt at the edges, then the green and finally blue in the center. The whole thing feels both familiar and alien at once, and the salt gives it a bit of twinkling light of its own, if only by reflection.

Blue Planet 2, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on paper, $222 framed, with free shipping.

Blue Planet 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the big, square crystals that formed all through the planet’s surface, as well as the darker edge crystals and the soft transition from green to blue. Below, you can see it happily tucked into its frame and reflecting onto the shiny iPhone hanging out to show size.

Blue Planet 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Tags: black paper, blue, blue planet, for sale, green, iridescent, planet, salt, watercolor
Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books, Shop - Abstract and Just Plain Weird | No Comments »

Blue Planet 3

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012

Blue Planet 3, watercolor by Amy Crook, $222

I know this is only the second day of posting and the third piece in the series, but Tentacle Tuesday is a tradition by now! After I watched the first two Blue Planets form, I wondered if it would be possible to make the green at the edges slither tentacle-like toward the center.

It turns out it was, but they’re very subtle, so I ended up going in later to add the outer tentacles, making this one a color-inverse of Tentacle Planet with the blue-green planet and black paper. The iridescent tentacles inside the planet’s blue surface show more at certain angles, but the salt crystals on top obscure the images a little, making it more of a secret for those who pick up the frame and look closely.

Blue Planet 3, 5″x5″ salt and watercolor on paper, $222 framed, with free shipping.

Blue Planet 3, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can just see the subtle transition of a tentacle inside where it meets up with one of the outer tentacles. Below, the piece sits happily in its frame, just waiting to invade its new home… with tentacles, of course.

Blue Planet 3, framed art by Amy Crook, $222

If you’re interested in this piece (or any of the others), you should really email me. The tentacles want you to.

Blue Planet 1

Monday, April 30th, 2012

Blue Planet 1, watercolor by Amy Crook, $222

This week I’m posting a series of 4 similar paintings, though slightly out of order out of respect for Tentacle Tuesday. I was revisiting some of my more scifi-themed work to decide what if anything I wanted to put in the art show at BayCon this year, and I decided that it had been too long since I painted one of my planets. I added some iridescent green paint in with my remaining mixture of salt and French Ultramarine and got to work.

I’ve numbered them in the order they were painted, this one first. As you can see, the salt crystals are tiny and fine, and the shape runs off the edge of the paper, which is totally what the salt water did. I think it looks a bit like a comet, or some shadowy binary planet, floating in space.

Blue Planet 1, 5″x5″ watercolor and salt on paper, $222 framed, with free shipping.

Blue Planet 1, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see the tiny sparkle of salt crystals, the subtle shimmer of the green paint and the sheen of opaque, matte blue that rests between the two. The paint and salt settle out on their own, once I apply the solution and some patience, giving me something unique each time. Below, of course, is the painting tucked into its frame, hanging out with my iPhone for size reference.

Blue Planet 1, framed art by Amy Crook, $222

If you’d like to talk about my planets with me (heh), especially about payment plans, feel free to email me.

Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, interior

Friday, April 27th, 2012

Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, interior, drawing by Amy Crook

Yesterday we saw the outside of 221b Baker street, and today it’s the interior. My Baker Street Tinies series combines the world of the recent Sherlock series from the BBC with the worlds and aesthetics of Edward Gorey.

Nicole and Mo wanted to celebrate their own love and their love of Sherlock Holmes with tattoos, and so we created a unique Gorey-ish vision of 221b Baker Street for each of them. You can’t have the originals — they’re spoken for — but you can get the designs on greeting cards at Etsy!

The wallpaper is straight out of the tv show, as are the fireplace and the antelope skull with its white headphones, though in the show none of these things are on the same wall. John’s Union Jack pillow is sitting on a very Gorey-ish sofa, along with Sherlock’s ubiquitous deerstalker cap. The mantel holds Sherlock’s skull, some mail jackknifed into the wood, a portrait of the pair of them, and abandoned milk with cold tea next to it. Now we know why they always have to buy more milk.

The bookshelf on the right is full of little details, most of which are hard to see without looking at the bigger version.

I really enjoyed working on this pair of drawings for Nicole and Mo, and I hope the tattoos come out beautifully. It was a great challenge to reference so many things in two tiny pieces of art, from the tv series to the books to the art and worlds of Edward Gorey. I’m already thinking about what I’ll do with them next!

Tags: 221b baker street, baker street tinies, edward gorey, etsy, nfs, sherlock, sold
Posted in Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of | No Comments »

Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, exterior

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

Baker Street Tinies: B is for Baker Street, exterior, drawing by Amy Crook

Today’s and tomorrow’s art are the newest in my Baker Street Tinies series, which combines the world of the recent Sherlock series from the BBC with the worlds and aesthetics of Edward Gorey.

Like the previous four, these were commissioned, so the originals are already sold and mailed off to their new owners. Nicole and Mo wanted to celebrate their own love and their love of Sherlock Holmes with tattoos, and so we created a unique Gorey-ish vision of 221b Baker Street for each of them. You can’t have the originals, but you can get the designs on greeting cards at Etsy!

This exterior shot is only somewhat faithful to the series — 221b itself has many of the features of Baker Street in the tv show, but the rest of the buildings are fanciful re-imaginings. You can see a shadow of a certain detective in the window of 221b, talking to the skull sitting atop a pile of books in the other window. Someone seems to have left their umbrella outside, but they can catch one of London’s famous black cabs if it rains. There’s even a binary joke hiding in the windows of the middle building.

My personal favorite is the fourth building, which just looks so very sad and shocked at what goes on in its neighborhood.

“Amy was an absolute pleasure to work with. She asked great questions to get at what we wanted out of the artwork, sent us drafts along the way, and worked with us to shape a final product that is absolutely stunning. She went above and beyond to see that the final product fit our needs, and we had a great experience all around.”

Tags: 221b baker street, baker street tinies, edward gorey, etsy, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock, sold
Posted in Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of | No Comments »

Tentacle Deeps 34

Tuesday, April 24th, 2012

Tentacle Deeps 34, watercolor by Amy Crook

I love the way these experimental tentacles came out, with the rich blue at the core fading to iridescent green and then finally the salt that looks almost coppery compared to the cool interior. These are tentacles reaching out from some sort of translucent blob, perhaps a Shoggoth resting at the bottom of his cell, trying to get out and eat his creators.

Omnomnom!

Tentacle Deeps 34, 4″x6″ salt and watercolor on paper, $333 framed, with free shipping.

Tentacle Deeps 34, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see a detail of the tentacles forming out of their base and reaching upwards and away from you. I think this image is quite nifty, so I made an iPhone wallpaper for you to share it with me. Below, the usual frame-up job, with my iPhone for scale only.