Felicitations
Posted on January 23rd, 2014
Felicitations, a Star Trek parody comic
by Amy Crook for Tara Swiger
This commission was so fun! Tara Swiger came to me wanting a Trekkie birthday card with a Tara sort of twist, and we passed ideas back and forth via email until this finally gelled.
Spock’s holding a gift in what I think of as Tara colors, though really her pink is usually even brighter, and Picard’s got his usual “make it so” hand gesture going on. It was kind of fun mixing eras, too (though technically Spock did show up on Next Generation, he wasn’t in his TOS uniform). A little logic, a little illogic, and a lot of fangirl glee went into the image!
After Tara got her original in the mail, she sent me this fun little quote to share with you:
Hoorah! I just got my custom illustration in the mail (Amy sent the ORIGINAL! So fancy!) and it is so perfect!
I requested a customer birthday card, something funny + sweet to send Captains on their birthday. Amy helped me come up with the perfect idea, because I was a bit foggy about what I wanted.
I love that she got the geekery and she’s clever enough to make it funny.Amy’s super-easy to work with (this is my second custom order!) and I’ve been nervous (I have NO idea what’s involved), but she makes it easy!
If you’d like an illustration of your very own, just email me to get started!
Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: all rights reserved, birthday, commission, copic marker, nfs, pen and ink, picard, spock, star trek, tara swiger
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Stamp Collection
Posted on January 21st, 2014
yep, that’s my stamp collection
I think the first stamps I ever collected were the Winnie the Pooh ones back in the mid-’90s, so long ago they’re still the sort you had to lick. Also, they’re Canadian. At some point in the next two decades (man, I’m old), I’ve added Hobbits from New Zealand, wizards from Australia, and several fannish sheets of US stamps. The latest addition are the nifty Harry Potter forever stamps that just came out here, which I got lots of — I’ll use most of them for Etsy orders, but just a few will get to stick around with the others in my collection.
Like a lot of my collections, this one is pretty small and focused on things I’m a fan of. 7 sets of stamps for 20 years is a tiny haul, but it’s enough for me to pull them out sometimes and smile over them.
We’re going through a time when it’s all about decluttering, getting rid of, and letting go, but I’ve always been a collector. I collected stickers and bookmarks as a kid, and still have some of the latter from 30+ years ago. I collect plushies, and action figures, books and comics and movies, tiny snow globes and giant slipcased volumes.
I declutter sometimes — get rid of this or that from things I’m less of a fan of than I used to be, or just ditch games I don’t play, movies I don’t watch or books I don’t read. I get rid of things that don’t make me smile anymore, for whatever reason.
But I’m never going to be a minimalist, because deep down I’m just too much of a pack rat.
How about you, are you a collector?
Categories: Words Words Words
Tags: collection, geekery, words
1 Comment »
Fairytale Sky 8
Posted on January 13th, 2014
Fairytale Sky 8 by Amy Crook
It’s the last day of the Floating Gallery, and I’m rounding up a week of art with another Fairytale Sky.
I used a different palette this time, a rich orange harvest moon that lights up the mist below in swirls of the same color. There’s a soft silvery green shimmer in and around those orange spirals, and a few little silver stars manage to peek out above the thick fog.
Everything about this painting is better in person, of course, from the shimmer of paint that changes color when the light hits to the soft texture of the black paper.
Fairytale Sky 8, 6″x4″ duochrome watercolor and Japanese watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Fairytale Sky 8, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the mist lit up with golden sparkles by the last rays of a sunset. Below, you can see the painting in a frame, with the phone that took the picture above. It’s quite a small piece, and could go on a desk, cubicle wall, or tucked into an odd corner of architecture to bring a smile whenever you glance into that little hidden place.
Fairytale Sky 8, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: black paper, duochrome, fairytale sky, for sale, iridescent, japanese watercolor, moon, orange, spirals, watercolor
Box of Hearts
Posted on January 12th, 2014
Box of Hearts, a Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook
When Cthulhu gives you a big box of hearts, he really gives you… hearts. Ew. They may be small and squishy, but he finally found a way to show his love!
The card delightfully frames the image with the words:
“Cthulhu wanted to give you his* hearts
*not all hearts dedicated to Cthulhu before acquisition”
You can give your love a Valentine this year from my Etsy Shop. Assuming they’re the sort to be wooed by, well, this.
Box of Hearts, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Cthulhu Valentine by Amy Crook on Etsy
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Floating Gallery, Tentacles, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: anatomical heart, copic marker, cthluhu, etsy, for sale, heart, pen & ink, valentine
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers
Posted on January 11th, 2014
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, comic by Amy Crook
The fates are conspiring to keep these two lovers apart, but they’ve used their shrimp treats to express their devotion. Will someone buy them both and put them in the same tank, or are they doomed to live forever alone?
You can get a Valentine at Etsy to show that long-distance love how much you miss them. With shrimp.
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper.
Shrimp-Crossed Lovers Valentine at Etsy by Amy Crook
Categories: Card Design, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, etsy, nfs, octopus, pen and ink, sold, squid, valentine
Roil
Posted on January 10th, 2014
Roil, abstract art by Amy Crook
What can I really say about this painting? It started out with a completely different idea, and once I let go of the image I had for it I was able to make something I really love. It’s got layers of color, texture and sparkle. The shapes are partly chaos and partly deliberate. It’s also the first painting I finished this year — I even remembered to write AC2014 instead of 2013!
Roil, 4″x6″ watercolor and duochrome watercolor on watercolor paper.
Roil, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight glittering off some of the secret bits of sparkle hiding in the bottom of the painting. Below, it’s in a frame with my iPhone for size reference.
Roil, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: duochrome, iridescent, more cowbell, nfs, watercolor
Cross Section
Posted on January 9th, 2014
Cross Section, abstract art by Amy Crook
I don’t do a lot with brown. I’ve never been that fond of the warm end of the scale, especially anything orange-toned, and browns usually have a lot of orange in them. But this time I wanted to give it a shot, so I used a rich terra cotta red-brown paint and a dark, sepia-like brown fountain pen to give this painting its grounded palette.
The brown ink is dye-based and fugitive, which means it’ll fade over time. I took advantage of this and put the piece in the sun for a few days, then used water to fade out the lines around the right edge, and faded it in the sun some more. The lines where the ink wasn’t watered down faded far less, which should be interesting if the new owner keeps it in a sunny spot.
Cross Section, 5″x5″ pen & ink and watercolor on Arches cover white paper.
Cross Section, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close up of the lower right corner with its sun-faded lines. Below, you can see the piece in a black frame, though I suspect it’d look nicer in a deep, warm brown.
Cross Section, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
Tags: for sale, pen and ink, watercolor
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