Posts Tagged ‘squid’

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Bobtail Squid

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Bobtail Squid sketch by Amy Crook

Bobtail Squid sketch by Amy Crook

Today’s art is a startled little bobtail squid, who clearly wasn’t expecting to have his portrait sketched this morning. I’ve got a tiny painting of one of his cousins in the works, actually, which I’ll be getting back to once my last houseguest of the summer leaves and life returns to some value of normal.

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Posted in Daily Art, Sea Creatures, Tentacles | No Comments »

If Wishes Were Fishes

Saturday, June 19th, 2010

If Wishes Were Fishes by Amy Crook

If Wishes Were Fishes by Amy Crook

This doodle springs from a conflation of two sayings my Mom used to use, “If wishes were fishes, we’d live in the sea,” and “If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride.” Somehow my brain mixed the two up, and we have this doodle — “If wishes were fishes, then beggars would ride.” I went Seussian with the fish, giving the whole thing a cheerful, if surrealistic, feel.

Click the image to see it bigger!

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Posted in Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange | No Comments »

Shrinky Dink Doodles

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Shrinky Dink Doodles by Amy Crook

Shrinky Dink Doodles by Amy Crook

A while back I picked up something quite nostalgic, a Klutz Press book for doing Shrinky Dinks. If you don’t know what those are, it’s a clear-ish plastic sheet that you draw on, then cut out shapes, put it in the oven, and watch it shrink down to a much smaller size. A childhood staple for me!

I was thinking of doing up some little charms for Etsy or just for myself, and I doodled up these half-dozen images for tracing with a sharpie onto the plastic. Then I could color them with sharpie or colored pencil, cut them out, and cook them in my little toaster oven. I’m sure I’ll get around to using some of the shrinky dink material someday, if only to amuse myself.

Got a favorite?

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Posted in Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things | 2 Comments »

School of Squid

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

School of Squid by Amy Crook

School of Squid by Amy Crook

This tiny oil painting is perfect to bring the ocean to your desk, bookshelf, or little niche. I saw a documentary about squid in the waters of Monterey, and they all looked so pale as they swarmed together, rather than the usual giant squid pink, that I was inspired to create this painting. I added a little dimension to them with some glazing, but I liked the way their underpaintings came out so ghostly that I left them mostly as is.

The edges of this little canvas board are finished, the image wrapping around to the sides to add a little dimensions to this tiny bit of undersea paradise. There’s a touch of pearlescent white in the shining water and on the shimmery squid, just to add a little sparkle.

School of Squid, 4″x6″, oil on canvas board, 5″ tall easel, $59 with free Priority Mail shipping in the US. 10% of your money will go to charity, check out the sidebar to see who I’m donating to this month!

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Posted in Sea Creatures, Tentacles | No Comments »

Pin Heads

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

3 Pin Heads by Amy Crook

3 Pin Heads by Amy Crook

I saw some decorative pin toppers to spruce up people’s pincushions a while back, and I loved the idea, but somehow none of them quite fit my personality. So, I made my own!

The first one is a rather morbid pink bunny head, decapitated just to decorate your sewing box or pincushion. He’s got black button eyes and his smart mouth’s been “sewn” shut with some black polymer clay thread, so he won’t give you any sass. He’s made of polymer clay, fully cured and varnished with some acrylic paint accents. His head’s been mounted on a heavy-gauge 2″ steel bank pin, and he’s ready to decorate your sewing kit.

Next we have a glow-in-the-dark zombie head, decapitated just to decorate your sewing box or pincushion. He’s made of polymer clay, fully cured and varnished with some acrylic paint “blood” accents. His head’s been mounted on a heavy-gauge 2″ steel bank pin, and he’s ready to haunt your sewing.

The last one is a perky purple squid, with metallic gold eyes and ten tiny tentacles. He was painted with acrylic to give him a little dimension, and then given a shiny gloss varnish to finish it. He’s hanging onto a heavy-gauge 2″ steel bank pin, and he’s ready to add his personality to your sewing.

These are all a little bit fragile, so you won’t want to actually use them sew, but the zombie or bunny would make a neat tie tack or lapel pin if you could keep the pointy end from making a pincushion out of you.

The pincushion pictured was made by the wonderful Kirashapedgirl on Etsy.

Polymer Clay Pin Heads on 2″ steel bank pins, sold.

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Posted in People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things | 2 Comments »

Nugget

Wednesday, November 11th, 2009

Nugget by Amy Crook

Nugget by Amy Crook

I got to paint squid! His name is Nugget.

My friend Gretchen commissioned me to paint her a giant squid to go over her mantle. We agreed on a size and general design, and after many months of slowness on my part acquiring the iridescent paint (He is about 95% iridescent or pearlescent. Shiny!), working and reworking his background, and finally getting him painted in and then made to not look bad, I have… SQUID! I will say that none of the photos really capture the color well, and nothing can really make you see the shiny that it is in person. It’s subtle, but awesome.

24″x36″, oil on canvas, not for sale (commission)

For the curious, here’s a bit of his process. Note how the bottom edge of the easel matches the bottom of the painting — you can see I’m a very careful, precise sort of artist. ;)
(more…)

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Posted in Completed Commissions, Sea Creatures, Tentacles | No Comments »

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