Many Happy Returns
Posted on August 20th, 2014
Many Happy Returns by Amy Crook
“A birthday is a delightful thing to have…
So I’ll wish you many happy returns of the day!”
After having my Grumpy Old Bilbo card in the shop for a while, I decided perhaps a Cheerful Young Bilbo card was in order, for contrast. Bilbo has a cheerful bright hobbit-sized birthday cake behind him, and the first of no doubt many kegs of ale, and he’s all dressed in his finery for a party.
If you’ve got a friend that loves The Hobbit but isn’t quite so grumpy as all that, you can wish them a happy birthday with this card.
Many Happy Returns, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Many Happy Returns, a Bilbo Baggins birthday card by Amy Crook at Etsy
Categories: Card Design, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bilbo baggins, birthday, birthday card, copic marker, for sale, hobbit, pen and ink
State of my Art, dog days of August edition
Posted on August 18th, 2014
This week I’ve got a lot of art to do, more than anything else. It’s that glorious week in the middle of the month when I actually have “make art” on the to-do list every day. That, and “harass Pod.” Trust me, he deserves it.
I’ve been working on a wee personal project making ridiculous pumpkin patterns for my Spoonflower account. It’s been great fun to pull out the Sharpies again, I find I do sometimes miss Sharpie Week even when I don’t miss the daily posting schedule. And it’s always fun to get into the Halloween spirit extra super early, don’t you think?
I finished two new pieces this past week, too. I finally figured out what to do with the swirly purple watercolor that I posted on Instagram last month; unsurprisingly, it involves crows. I also managed to paint another piece of stealth fan art, this time inspired by the gorgeous opening credits for Skyfall.
I’ve been working on a bunch of comics, some for Etsy and some just because. Hastur* is coming soon to a holiday card near you, and I started a slightly creepy birthday card involving a Weeping Angel. I may have also indulged myself in inking a couple of ridiculous James Bond crossovers that were the result of late-night Tumblr requests, and I might polish up a mashup of The Hobbit and Despicable Me as well.
If there’s a fandom holiday card you’ve always dreamed of seeing from me, now’s the time to let me know, Dear Readers. I’ll be drawing up a storm in August and September to be ready for the season!
I’ve got to do something with that intriguing bit of blue and white you can see along the right, and get cracking on a few other pieces as well. Before I know it, it’ll be time to work up the preview for my Patrons, and then open the Floating Gallery for September. Eek!
*three times is the charm. well, I say charm…
Categories: Words Words Words, Works In Progress
Tags: state of my art, words
Winter
Posted on August 8th, 2014
Winter, abstract art by Amy Crook
I don’t usually pick favorites, but this painting stands out to me as one of the best ones I’ve done lately. There’s just something about it that really speaks to me, a story it almost tells, like an open door into your own interpretation. I almost didn’t want to narrow the viewer’s impressions with a title, but the colors were so cold and the shapes so organic I went with Winter.
Winter, 10″x8″ watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Winter, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the delicate traceries and fascinating granulation within each line up close. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, which is very much my favorite way to view it. Something about cutting off that top whitespace really brings the image together for me. The creamy ivory color of the paper is also more evident in this photo than the others.
Winter, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, pathways, watercolor
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Cthulhu Waits
Posted on August 7th, 2014
Cthulhu Waits, pen and ink art by Amy Crook
Three colors of pen, three different inking techniques, and one creepy drawing. Cthulhu glares balefully out of his cave, surrounded by strange growths and bathed in darkness. He waits for the stars to be right, for the summoning that will bring him from his sleep of death and up into the world once again.
Cthulhu Waits, 6″x4″ pen & ink on Fluid watercolor paper.
Cthulhu Waits, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see all three inking techniques up close, the roe-like stalactites hanging down above the fine-inked blackness, with Cthulhu in his scribbly, tentacled glory. Below, you can see the piece in a frame, just waiting to drive you mad with its strange details.
Cthulhu Waits, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: cthulhu, green, ia ia cthulhu fthagn, nfs, pen and ink
Growth 3
Posted on August 6th, 2014
Growth 3, abstract art by Amy Crook
I took the theme of Growth a step further this time, layering the growths themselves in three sets of increasingly light blue, and then blurring them out with water to add a strange spin to the structure of circles within and without.
Growth 3, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Growth 3, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the corona up close, the three layers of ink mixing and blending, but still some of the white central spaces from inside the circles remain. Below, you can see the painting in a frame. It’s small, but it’s fierce!
Growth 3, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, growth, pen and ink, watercolor
Uncertain Boundaries
Posted on August 5th, 2014
Uncertain Boundaries, abstract watercolor by Amy Crook
I spend way too much time explaining how much better my artwork looks in real life, but it’s always true. This piece has much richer jewel tones of purple, teal, and green that have all sort of washed out into a vague blueness when converted to rgb.
There’s rich layers of color, with some of the boundaries outlined and some erased, and some only vaguely visible. It makes me think of a map of some strange world that has evolved along with the history of the place, borders drawing and redrawing themselves as alien politics shift and change.
Uncertain Boundaries, 6″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Uncertain Boundaries, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see one of the places where new color obliterates the old, and the boundary lines stutter and fade. Below, you can see this small piece in a frame, small enough to add its bright color to any number of surprising spaces.
Uncertain Boundaries, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: blue, green, japanese watercolor, map, nfs, pen and ink, purple, sold, watercolor
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down
Posted on August 4th, 2014
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down by Amy Crook
I’ve painted lots of skies full of crows, but today I decided to go a different way with my dark Halloween heart and paint bats. Because bats!
There’s a tiny hint of nighttime violet in the upper left, but it’s being chased away by the sunrise glowing at bottom of the painting, where seven winter-barren trees peek up into the frame. There’s 13 flying bats (of course) and 3 already sleeping in the lightning-split tree they call their home.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, 8″x4″ pen & ink and watercolor on Fluid watercolor paper.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the bats coming in for a landing, and the three sleepers at the very top of the tree. Below, you can see the piece in a temporary frame, just waiting for the right wall to hold it.
Sleep Until the Sun Goes Down, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: baaaaaaaats, bats, horizons, nfs, pen and ink, sold, tree, watercolor
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