Posts Tagged ‘etching’

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Red Death

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

Red Death by Amy Crook

Red Death by Amy Crook

This piece has a bit of a story to it. It’s a large monoprint, with a very small etching plate near the center of the paper. The two more random images were created by mixing up the blood-red ink and then smushing it between two plates, and then printing the result. I love the way the bottom image looks a bit like a heart (of the anatomical sort), while the left image seems to hold a whole world of secrets, a landscape of crimson mystery.

The etching plate is part of a series I started and never finished, depicting Neil Gaiman’s Endless from his Sandman comic series — but not the people, the ideas they represented. This plate was, I think, the most successful, the image for Death. I did print a single edition of the plates by themselves, and I’ll post those next month sometime (very Halloween appropriate).

Together the 3 images seem to tell a story, or to invite the viewer to tell their own story. I think every piece of art has something to say to the viewer, but not every person gets the same message. I’m always curious what a piece says to other people — what does this one say to you?

Red Death, 22.5″x16″ etching and monoprint on watercolor paper, $699 $545 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $70 of your money will go to charity.

Red Death, detail, by Amy Crook

Red Death, detail, by Amy Crook

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things | No Comments »

The Texture of Faith

Monday, September 6th, 2010

The Texture of Faith by Amy Crook

The Texture of Faith by Amy Crook

This print uses 3 of my little etching plates, two of which have been double-inked so that there’s a primary color in the actual etching, and a secondary red on the surface of the plate. The top two plates are both found objects of a sort, the smaller one is actually part of a larger plate that I cut up and kept pieces of to use in other prints. The paper has a beautiful texture of its own, lending an extra dimension to the abstract images, and giving a rich desert for the tiny cruciform figure to wander in.

The Texture of Faith, detail, by Amy Crook

The Texture of Faith, detail, by Amy Crook

There’s a lot of meaning that could be inferred here, but this is one of those pieces that’s hard to quantify for me — I can talk about this technical aspect or that process, but the end result was something unexpected. There’s hints of stories and ideas hiding in the abstract, brought out by the smallest image at the bottom.

The Texture of Faith by Amy Crook, 15.5″x23″ intaglio and monoprint on imported Mexican bark paper, $499 $389 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $50 of your money will go to charity.

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art | No Comments »

Sea

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Sea by Amy Crook

Sea by Amy Crook

This image has been giving me fits in Photoshop, trying to preserve the delicate speckled robin’s-egg quality of the paper without making everything look absurdly blue. All of the colours are more subtle in real life, soft grey-blues and dusky teals that form a strange pattern of waves.

You can see where I also used one of my etching plates, the same one that shows up in very different contexts in Ogdred Weary and Elements. Instead of inking into the deep grooves of the plate, I used the same brayer (ink roller) that I used to make the larger patterns, to roll ink only onto the surface of the plate, leaving the actual etching free of ink. (Click any image to see it larger.)

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 1, by Amy Crook

You can see here how there’s echoing linework hiding in the main part of the image. First ink was laid down on the main plate using the brayer, and then the back of a paintbrush was used to scrape away the ink to add texture.

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 2, by Amy Crook

The whole pattern of waves and seaweed, or tentacles, or just more eddies and currents, is topped off with a shining sun rubber stamp in silver ink.

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

Sea, detail 3, by Amy Crook

The print itself is quite large, the imported paper soft with beautiful natural edges. It really needs to be matted and framed for proper display, perhaps floated on a white or black background. I may have to get this one framed myself and just add the cost to the price, and of course I’m always happy to do it for you if you want to buy it before I get around to it.

Sea, 31″x23″ monoprint, etching and rubber stamp on paper, $699 $545 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $70 of your money will go to charity.

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Sea Creatures | 3 Comments »

What You See

Monday, August 9th, 2010

What You See by Amy Crook

What You See by Amy Crook

This etching plate was cut from a larger “found” plate. When I found the abandoned piece, this particular image jumped out at me, so when I cut the plate into smaller pieces, I saved this one out. It’s printed onto a piece of handmade paper with little strands of human hair (a lock cut from a classmate, iirc). The paper has gorgeous natural edges, and would look great floated on a black matte and framed, though right now it’s just loose.

I feel like it would be giving something away to tell you what I see when I look at the piece, instead of letting you find your own images. I will say that there’s an element of anima, of the manitou, in it for me. What do you see?

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, detail, by Amy Crook

What You See, 2″x2″ etching on 6″x9″ handmade paper, $349 $272 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $25 of your money will go to charity.

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art | No Comments »

Patterns and Symbols

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols by Amy Crook

These three tiny etching plates were hand inked and arranged to go through the printing press together, creating a one-of-a-kind print. Each etching plate is only an inch or an inch and a half square, the images floating in the center of the white page.

The top plate was painstakingly inked so that each aquatinted curl of “smoke” got its own colour, and then the two subsequent plates — both etchings with added aquatint — were inked with the same colors to complement the first. Together the three separate decorative motifs give a different meaning and presentation than any one piece would singly.

Patterns and Symbols, 8″x12″ etching on watercolor paper, $299 $233 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $30 of your money will go to charity.

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

Patterns and Symbols, detail, by Amy Crook

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art | No Comments »

Icon

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

Icon by Amy Crook

Icon by Amy Crook

This is another tiny etching plate, which I inked using a method where the figure, who was etched deep enough to leave an impression in the paper, was inked in yellow, then the plate was wiped mostly clean and the rest of the surface was re-inked in red.

In classical art, yellow is the color of suffering, and of course in modern times we’re all about red for pain and blood. The diluted ink actually bled down the paper a little when it was run through the press, adding to the symbolism.

I actually did a whole series of crucifixion pieces during that time period, though this is definitely the smallest of the lot — the plate itself is only one inch square.

Icon, detail, by Amy Crook

Icon, detail, by Amy Crook

Icon, 1″x1″ etching on a 10″x4″ piece of watercolor paper, $299 with free shipping. $30 of your money will go to charity.

Details about Icon:

  • It’s one of a kind, not part of an edition
  • It’s printed onto watercolor paper, and would need to be matted or framed before display
  • I can matte or frame it for you for a small fee, or you can do it yourself, either way shipping is always free
  • The paper is approximately 10″x4″ but the image is only 1″x1″
  • When you buy this piece, $30 will go to the charity that’s in the sidebar at the time you buy it

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Posted in Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books | No Comments »

Dichotomies

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

Dichotomies by Amy Crook

Dichotomies by Amy Crook

This print uses two small etching plates together in composition. The large plate was a piece of the same found plate from yesterday’s art, and the small plate is one of my series of smaller plates for use in larger pieces, which you can see was inked in two different colors and printed over the darker plate. I’m more pleased with the final result on this one, I think, but I like the contrast between the two pieces.

You can see how the natural deckle edge from a larger sheet of watercolor paper forms the bottom, where the hand-torn edges give character to the other three sides. I was always a bit careless about the process of breaking down the bigger sheets, so this, like many of my prints, isn’t really a perfect rectangle.

Because of the way the composition was created out of several different hand-inked and hand-placed plates, it’s one of a kind.

Dichotomies, 4″x6″ etchings on watercolor paper, $299 $233 through Sept. 14 with free shipping. $30 of your money will go to charity.

Details about Dichotomies:

  • It’s one of a kind, not part of an edition
  • It’s printed onto watercolor paper, and would need to be matted or framed before display
  • I can matte or frame it for you for a small fee, or you can do it yourself, either way shipping is always free
  • The paper is approximately 4″x6″ and the image goes from edge to edge
  • When you buy this piece, $30 will go to the charity that’s in the sidebar at the time you buy it

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Posted in Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art | No Comments »

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