Posts Tagged ‘nfs’

Misty Moon 2

Friday, November 8th, 2013

Misty Moon 2 by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2 by Amy Crook

A black crow flies against the darkest part of the sky, while mist swirls and floats all around, obscuring the shining moon. The mist drifts in wispy tentacles that light up into spirals when the light hits them just right.

Misty Moon 2, 6″x4″ watercolor and iridescent watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Misty Moon 2, detail, by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2, detail, by Amy Crook

The scanner captures the painting in an in-between state, but you can see above how the stars light up violet and the mist glows blue when the sun hits it. Below, the painting in its frame appears more like it does to the naked eye, with the shimmering spirals hidden, and only the slithering tentacles of mist show through.

Misty Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Misty Moon 2, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Red, Gold, and Green

Wednesday, November 6th, 2013

Red, Gold, and Green, watercolor still life by Amy Crook

Red, Gold, and Green, watercolor still life by Amy Crook

That’s right, I painted a still life. On purpose.

I wanted something for my personal holiday cards this year that was in the colors of the season but without too much of the seasonal hype, so I pulled out a few of my Pilot Petit fountain pens and then painted a quick still life. The original was for sale in November’s Floating Gallery, but I won’t be putting the cards for sale. You have to be on my holiday card list to get one.

Red, Gold, and Green, 6″x4″ watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.

Red, Gold, and Green, detail, by Amy Crook

Red, Gold, and Green, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a little close-up of the green and orange (only the pen body is really gold) pens. They have a plastic support behind each nib that’s colored to match the ink, and you can see the green one here, and a little sliver of the orange one in the background. Below, I’ve put it in a frame, with my phone and the not-gold pen in question (the color is called “apricot”).

Red, Gold, and Green, framed art by Amy Crook

Red, Gold, and Green, framed art by Amy Crook

If you don’t know what song this piece puts in my head, I can’t really help you.

And yes, I used Oxford commas in the title just for you.

Categories: Card Design, Floating Gallery, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Mercy House

Tuesday, November 5th, 2013

Mercy House by Amy Crook

Mercy House by Amy Crook

“Sometimes one feels that it would be merciful to tear down these houses, for they must often dream.”
-H.P. Lovecraft, “The Picture in the House”

I’ve been wanting to paint a house to go with this quote for a while, and October seemed the perfect month for a fretful, unhappy wreck of a house to emerge from the cool green background. There’s a quality to the paint that’s hard to capture on film, an unnatural wash watery green across the whole thing that slips it sideways into the world of Lovecraft’s special brand of madness.

Mercy House, 8″x10″ watercolor on watercolor paper.

Mercy House, detail, by Amy Crook

Mercy House, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the tiny glints of sunlight off the blindly staring window, and the black gap where the door once was. I never did decide if those fragments of sun are on shattered glass, or merely filtered through the encroaching leaves surrounding the house. Below, I’ve put the piece in an antiqued gold frame, the better to emphasize the sense of decay.

Mercy House, framed art by Amy Crook

Mercy House, framed art by Amy Crook

This piece always puts Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “The Mercy Seat” in my head. Because of reasons.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Mistletoe Experiment

Saturday, November 2nd, 2013

Mistletoe Experiment, a parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

Mistletoe Experiment,
a parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

In some ways, this comic was really just an excuse to put John in yet another horrifying holiday sweater. Sherlock’s found some mistletoe to hang up for an experiment, but we’re not sure if he’s after smooches or poison dosages. Either way, John will be on the lookout.

This piece is in this month’s Floating Gallery, but was bought by a lovely patron so the original’s no longer available. But you can get it on a holiday card in my Etsy shop.

Mistletoe Experiment, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Mistletoe Experiment Sherlock holiday card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Mistletoe Experiment Sherlock holiday card by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Card Design, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
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Jo’s Magnificent Metaphorical Time Machine

Monday, October 28th, 2013

Jo's Magnificent Metaphorical Time Machine, commissioned illustration by Amy Crook

Jo’s Magnificent Metaphorical Time Machine, commissioned illustration by Amy Crook

It’s Monday, and I think we all wish we could hop in and go back to Friday to enjoy the weekend all over again. The delightful Jo Van Every has gotten another fun illustration, this time of the “time machine” she uses to help get clients to think ahead. She wanted something colorful and whimsical, so I went for a Seussian version of the HG Wells creation. I’m not sure what all those big funnel-shaped things do, but I’m certain it’s timey-wimey stuff.

Categories: Completed Commissions, Whimsical and Strange
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Alternate Universes: Sherlock BBC

Saturday, October 26th, 2013

Alternate Universes: Sherlock BBC, parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

Alternate Universes: Sherlock BBC
parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

And so we come to the end! I used simple neutrals and a white background to show that really, all of these alternate universes are part of the bigger pastiche of Arthur Conan Doyle’s works, Sherlock BBC. And, as Sherlock says, no matter what universe he’s in, he’s always exceptional.

You can read the whole comic here any time you like, where I’ve conveniently reordered time so the panels read in order.

Alternate Universes: Sherlock BBC, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Below, you can see the print I made of this whole 6-panel comic.

Alternate Universes, a Sherlock comic, print by Amy Crook on Etsy

Alternate Universes, a Sherlock comic, print by Amy Crook on Etsy

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Alternate Universes: Soulmates

Friday, October 25th, 2013

Alternate Universes: Soulmates, parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

Alternate Universes: Soulmates
parody Sherlock comic by Amy Crook

For Friday we have purples, and one of the sweetest AUs in fandom: Soulmates. This is a magical realism AU where there’s some sort of mystical way that people are matched up at birth, and they have to search to find their perfect match. It takes the myth of the divided soul and puts names on people’s arms, or clocks counting down, or bits of poetry or some other plot device to show that the characters are literally made for each other.

In this case, I went for the name on the arm trope, and you can see John’s got his own wrist covered in a cuff, politely shielding his soulmate’s name from prying eyes, while Sherlock just used nicotene patches for dual-purpose covering up.

Alternate Universes: Soulmates, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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