Evermore
Posted on April 7th, 2022
Evermore, 7″x5″ watercolor on yupo
Yupo is a nifty paper-like substrate made of polypropylene resin that doesn’t absorb water at all. This tough little sheet is semi-transparent, so you can see my tablecloth through the sunset if you look closely!
Clouds spiral upward from gold to orange to pink, while the sun sits red at the edge of the horizon, ready to slip away for the night. The tree still has a lot of growing to do, but it’s getting there, and this raven is perfectly happy to hang out and wait for spring.
The ink and paint made fascinating textures on the yupo as they dried, and you can see where I left a little impression of myself in the sun.
Evermore, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the swirls of paint and he way the pen and ink cut right through them to mark its own path on the translucent paper — and you can also se the swirls of my tablecloth showing through! Below, the painting is in a simple frame, though it might be better served by a clear acrylic frame when it finds its way home.
Evermore, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, horizons, pen and ink, watercolor, yupo
Concentric 13
Posted on April 6th, 2022
Concentric 13, 7″x5″ watercolor on paper
A gorgeous deep violet wash hides hints of teal spirals beneath it, while the concentric dot patterns bring in a shine of purple, blue-green, and silver. The light makes the firework bursts shine, while a change of angle lets all but the silver fade into the paper. The colors all have a dark base with the bright sparkles to better help it shine!
There’s a little hint of the Growth series around the edges as the silver circles break up and float off, waiting to see their own bright bursts further out in the galaxy. The shapes are like dandelions going to seed, explosions of life ready to find somewhere new to take root.
Concentric 13, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bright purple centers on each burst and how they fade first to blue then soft green and finally silver. Below, the painting is in a frame, just bursting to belong to someone — maybe you!
Concentric 13, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: concentric, duochrome, for sale, iridescent, metallic, more cowbell, purple, watercolor
Deep in the Middle Twilight
Posted on April 5th, 2022
Deep in the Middle Twilight, 12″x6″ watercolor on paper
This fanciful painting is also a foot wide, but a mere six inches tall! Thick, textured watercolor gives us a deep ocean current on which floats a plethora sea life. Well, and a ghost.
The watery backdrop is a deep matte teal, while the sea life all sparkles and shines, much like the actual creatures that live in the Twilight Zone (not the tv show). The giant squid waves hello from off to the left, our little ghost meditates on the right, and both tropical fish and jellyfish dance through the rest of the space.
This art would be a fun addition to any room, a little spark of whimsy to brighten up any space.
Deep in the Middle Twilight, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see our little green ghostie shining brightly from the strength of its own spirit. Below, I’ve badly stuck this in a temporary frame to show how big it is — a larger frame will do it better justice once you’ve got it home!
Deep in the Middle Twilight, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: duochrome, for sale, iridescent, watercolor
Time is Escaping
Posted on April 4th, 2022
Time is Escaping, 12″x24″ mixed media on paper
This piece has been through a number of transformations, starting with a very pink wash of rhodonite and ending with a spattering of metallic watercolor. There’s both mineral and synthetic pigments, watercolor and acrylic paints, and a variety of techniques in this big, beautiful work of art.
Larger than my usual (two feet tall — Trotsky for scale!), this painting would add shine and color to any space. It’s a gorgeous statement piece, a mix of intense blues and purples softened by sparkle and shine, and the pearly sheen of genuine black tourmaline.
Time is Escaping, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of all the gorgeous texture in the central spiral. Below, you can see the swirls and dots of the lower portion of the painting, as lit by actual spring sun!
Time is Escaping, detail, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: iridescent, metallic, nfs, primatek, soft body acrylic, sold, vortices, watercolor
Concentric 11
Posted on April 2nd, 2022
Concentric 11, 5″x5″ watercolor on black paper by Amy Crook
The soft black Arches paper, originally created for printmaking, makes a gorgeous charcoal surface to use with metallic watercolor.
Blue and gold spirals made a soft layer on which to build the concentric shapes, which stick to the palette and come in many shades of blue, gold, and silver. There’s even a few that mix the blue and gold to make soft greens, and one that fades into warm coppery golds from a nearly-silver center.
This shining painting is just the right size to bring some beauty to a little corner of of your desk, a tiny hidden bit of wall, or to nestle among some books on a shelf.
Concentric 11, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can really see the colors of the dot pattern as they flow one into another, and the hints of spirals hiding beneath the bursts of metallic shine. Below, this small painting is in a temporary frame, just waiting to come live on your desk and give you some good good dopamine throughout the day.
Concentric 11, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: black paper, concentric, duochrome, iridescent, metallic, more cowbell, nfs, sold, watercolor
January 2022 Patreon Sketches
Posted on March 15th, 2022
All caught up! I’ll post February’s patron sketch cards probably in early April, as I give my supporters the month of to request, and then give myself the month after to draw them and then post to Patreon on the 28th. Now that I’ve made them all this cool artist trading card/artist card edition original (ACEO) size, it’s been a lot less friction for me to sit down and get started on a set of them, and get them done with a few days of work.
ACEO sketch cards by Amy Crook
I did a half dozen this time around, almost entirely watercolor. From the top left:
- Nick prompted “besos!” and gets Bruno from Encanto smooching a capybara, but we shouldn’t be talking about it
- Roxanne B wanted tea, and gets this precarious pile
- Amy B asked for a “cheeky monkey” of a kitty, and gets this little jerkface
- this sunny sky in watercolor on yupo is just for my own amusement, and I guess if CSI ever needs my fingerprints
- Jefferson asked for coffee and gets addict Ditto
- Rey & Amber asked for “if you’re not bleeding, it’s not an emergency” and Amber got sky blue hair without having to go to the salon
I may do a sketch sale pretty soon, which posts to my Patreon first and then to my email list, so join one of those if you’d like a chance to own some of these!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: aceo, amy b, books, capybara, cat, encanto, jefferson, nick, patreon, pokemon, rey, roxanne b, word art, yupo
Patreon Headers & Tiers
Posted on March 10th, 2022
I decided to lean into the cat sketch life along with a refresh of my Patreon page this year! I redid the tiers and gave them all-new art, and made headers for all of my monthly posts. Check it out on the page, and enjoy the weird originals below!
cat sketch cards and a bonus sticker by Amy Crook
The original on the House Cat tier is long gone, but I did all-new sketch cards for the other 4! From the top left:
- Snow Leopard ($25)
- Pallas Cat ($10)
- Kitten ($3)
- Voidcat ($100)
- House Cat ($5) sticker from last quarter’s swag rewards
I had fun exploring different styles for the different tiers, though next time perhaps I’ll stick to one style, haha.
Patreon header sketch cards by Amy Crook
I made a whole posting schedule for myself to spread out the goodies and keep from losing track of time, and so far it’s been great on my end. You’d have to ask my supporters how they’re enjoying it, but hey, every post comes with a cat photo as well as the fancy header art!
From the top left:
- Art Works in Progress ft. Mal
- Art WIP lettering, some of which also shows up in the Writing header
- Sketch Requests (with alternate q) ft. Pod
- Writing Works in Progress ft. Raccoon
- Poll ft. Pod’s paw
- Art Vault (oddly catless)
There’s also a monthly sketch card post for the finished requests from the previous month, but so far I haven’t done a header for that — the cards are the art on that post, after all!
Patreon is an easy way to support your artist for a small monthly donation, and you can get wallpapers, sketch requests, stickers and swag, dibs on new works of art, and of course a cavalcade of cat pics!
Categories: Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
Tags: black paper, cat, patreon, pen and ink, sticker, watercolor, word art
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