Tentacle Deeps 35
Posted on May 15th, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 35, watercolor by Amy Crook
Someone asked me at the gallery on Saturday why I like tentacles, and I didn’t have a really good answer. I like painting them a lot, in part because it’s an interesting combination of spontaneous and planned art, in that the tentacles can go all over the place but keep a certain smooth taper to them while they do, and I always try to get a certain distribution of shapes and sizes in so that the piece itself is aesthetically pleasing as well as creepy.
This particular paper isn’t really meant to be watercolor paper, and it absorbed the paint without letting it float on top at all, giving a stripey quality to the blue gradation in the background. The paper itself has a lot of little dotted inclusions that add texture to the piece, and the tentacles themselves are painted in Japanese sumi-e ink rather than watercolor to take better advantage of the paper’s absorbency.
Tentacle Deeps 35, 8″x10″ ink and watercolor on paper.
Tentacle Deeps 35, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the shine off the very base of the tentacles where the black sumi-e ink is the thickest. Below, the piece waits in its frame, taking up nearly my whole tiny writing desk as it poses with my iPhone for scale.
Tentacle Deeps 35, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: blue, for sale, sumi-e ink, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
Silver Moon
Posted on May 14th, 2012
Silver Moon, watercolor by Amy Crook
It’s been a while since I gave you a new moon for Monday, so I thought it was about time. I did the salt pools for this one in a variety of sizes, using the clear salt water I made so even the smallest droplet left some salt behind when it dried. I used some powdered silver watercolor I have on hand to create a lovely colorless sky this time, with halos around the biggest star and an outward-fading spiral for the moon.
The reason I talk about the process so much is that’s what I’m mostly thinking about as I work, trying to get the effect I want out of the materials I’m using. I thinned out the silver paint to a specific thickness for the outer two circles on the moon, wanting there to be a delineation between the moon itself and the light that shines from it the way there is with the stars. I went for one big spiral this time because it seemed to fit with the rest, even though the star field is more complicated than in some similar pieces.
I try not to overthink these decisions as I’m making them, because the pieces work best when they’re not too fussy, with swooping paint strokes and not-quite-random scatterings of salt.
Silver Moon, 6″x4″ salt and watercolor on Arches cover black paper.
Silver Moon, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the light reflecting off the silver paint where it’s most opaque, as well as highlighting the smaller, un-haloed stars in the black. Below, the piece is framed and sitting next to my trusty iPhone for scale.
Silver Moon, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: black paper, for sale, moon, salt, silver, watercolor
Squiggle Bookmark
Posted on May 13th, 2012
Squiggle Bookmark by Amy Crook
And here we have the perfect bookmark for sketch Sunday, or, ridiculous squiggles like I used to draw on all my notes back in school (you know, when the dinosaurs roamed the earth). I used one of those incredibly silly gel pens with the ink that changes color, and you can see the variations in the color from a bright blue at the top through midnight and ending up a distinct violet shade.
I’m pretty sure I did this whole thing over the course of two conference calls, but yes, it took just as long as you think it did. While I find this sort of pattern makes for a good “fake embroidery” on collars and cuffs in drawings, I don’t think I’ll ever use it for anything quite this big again. Too much squiggling!
Squiggle Bookmark, 1.5″x8″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Squiggle Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the teeny tiny pattern up close and personal. Below, the bookmark is nestled with a book to show you that no, it’s not small, I’m just slightly mad, as is appropriate for an artist.
Squiggle Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, sold, violet
Doctor Who Bookmark 1
Posted on May 12th, 2012
Doctor Who
Bookmark 1
by Amy Crook
I’ve optimistically numbered this 1, assuming I’ll get the urge to do more Doctor Who bookmarks in the future. The Eleventh Doctor is contemplating his lot with his TARDIS parked a bit precariously on a hill, and not liking his options at the moment. But don’t worry, he’ll figure some way out.
He’s the Doctor. It’s what he does.
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, 1.5″x7″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, a close-up of our pouting Doctor. Below, he’s hanging out with my Free Comic Book Day book from last Saturday’s outing, an excellent reminder that I love sequential art and ought to do more of it.
Doctor Who Bookmark 1, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: bookmark, doctor who, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Salt Bookmark 4
Posted on May 11th, 2012
Salt Bookmark 4
by Amy Crook
The second smallest bookmark for your Friday viewing, this one’s a little shorter but wide enough to win the by a nose on total surface area. (What? You knew I was a nerd.)
This one echoes the flaked-off salt textures in Blue Planet 4, but in miniature, with the smallest pools keeping all of their paint and only the larger four pulling away to show the iridescent green beneath. I gave this one a meticulous background of blue lines radiating outward without ever quite intersecting thanks to the stopping points I snuck in at the start.
Salt Bookmark 4, 1″x5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Salt Bookmark 4, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the textures of salt and paint, ink and paper, and how they all interact on a tiny level (given that the bookmark is barely and inch wide). Below, it’s snuggled up with a book for size perspective, though I’m not sure I’d want to risk leaving blue powder in my books by actually using this one for reading.
Salt Bookmark 4, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: blue, bookmark, nfs, pen and ink, salt, sold, watercolor
Jellyfish Bookmark 2
Posted on May 10th, 2012
Jellyfish Bookmark 2
by Amy Crook
More tentacles for Thursday! This bookmark is extra thick, drawn on black mat board rather than the paper I usually use. I drew a rainbow of jellyfish on here, and saved the gold for mysterious floating motes of something in the black depths.
This is the smallest of this week’s offerings, though the paper’s quite thick, making it a very solid little piece of art.
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, 0.75″x6″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, detail, by Amy Crook
Above you can see the sparkle of the glittery pen I used for this set of jellyfish. Below, they’re hanging out with a book to show you how small and unassuming this bookmark is. Just the thing for a small and unassuming book full of secret awesome.
Jellyfish Bookmark 2, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: bookmark, glitter gel pen, jellyfish, nfs, sold, tentacles
Be the Change Bookmark
Posted on May 9th, 2012
Be the Change Bookmark by Amy Crook
For Words Wednsday this week, we have a very popular and, I think, applicable quote. I decided I wanted more beauty (and spirals!) in my world, so I finally stopped pining after the art I wanted to make and started making art instead.
I’m still working on some of the other changes, like seeing the complexity hiding in seemingly simple issues, but those can be a lot harder. Still, I think this bookmark would make an excellent reminder for someone wanting to see a change in their lives, that the only person who can move your life towards a better one is you.
Be the Change Bookmark, 8″x1.5″ mixed media on paper, nfs (sold).
Be the Change Bookmark, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, spirals! Below, the bookmark on my awesome free hardcover graphic novel from Free Comic Book Day this year. Another good reminder that art and words don’t have to be exclusive.
Be the Change Bookmark, with book, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: bookmark, mahatma gandhi, nfs, quote, sharpie, sold
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