Grumpy Weeble for JoVE
Posted on March 31st, 2012
Grumpy Weeble cartoon for Jo VanEvery, all rights reserved
The delightful Jo VanEvery wanted a cartoon — stat! — for a seminar she was doing. She wanted someone that looked a bit like one’s inner academic saying, “no!” to all the possibilities for one’s career and research. We decided on a weeble, and I sent her the colors you see above for a poster, and the inks (which I always scan before I color, in case of mishap), which they used for a coloring book page during the seminar.
She liked him so much, she’s getting a couple more, so expect to see a few more of her illustrations popping up in the coming weeks!
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, commission, copic marker, jo vanevery, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
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Pattern Recognition
Posted on March 30th, 2012
Pattern Recognition, abstract art by Amy Crook
This piece started out as tiny bead-like droplets of salt-infused ink on the paper. The salt crystals that grew were small and black, evenly spaced across the ink circles, and the ink was actually coating the salt so they hardly sparkled at all. I took a wet brush and idly doodled the uppermost right-hand pattern by re-wetting the ink and drawing it out in three long, swooping lines. Using water to separate this ink shows off its complex color structure of blue and orangey-brown, and so I used the same method to make patterns around the rest of the ink dots as well.
Since I gently dissolved some of the ink off of the salt crystals, they regained a tiny bit of sparkle, so this image that could have been boring black and white had I made it with pen and ink, has a three-dimensional, full-color palette of tiny details. Sometimes it’s worth it to do things the ridiculously complicated way.
Pattern Recognition, 5″x5.25″ ink and salt on paper, $234 framed, with free shipping.
The detail shot below shows off both the color variation in the “black” ink, and the dull shine of the tiny salt crystals. To give you a sense of scale, the entire design in this photo is about the size of a quarter.
Pattern Recognition, detail, by Amy Crook
I haven’t yet framed this piece, it’s just a tiny bit too big for a 5″x5″ frame, so it’ll get mounted into a larger 8″x8″ frame before going to its new home.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, ink, salt
Quadrivium
Posted on March 29th, 2012
Quadrivium Supplies logo, art by Amy Crook, all rights reserved
My awesome friend Catherine has started up a brand-new company called Quadrivium Supplies, and I’m very pleased to have gotten to design her logo and product labels. She wanted a calligraphic Q of some kind, we went trolling the internet for ideas together. I drew the art quite small by hand with pen and ink and, as you can see, no ruler for the inking. I wanted it to have some rough edges the way a real woodcut would.
Even though the original art is only 2″ tall, I scanned it in Ridiculously High Resolution so she’d be able to use it on anything she liked. So far she’s using the small version the most, on her website, Twitter avatar, and labels. Irony.
I also drew her dingbats! They match the leaflike style of the decorations in her Q, and we used one of them on her labels. These are only 1/2″ tall in real life, but I made them big for the internets because I don’t hate you.
Quadrivium Supplies Banishing Ritual Oil label, design by Amy Crook, all rights reserved
“I started out with, ‘I want a logo. Maybe it should have a Q in it.’ And she got it narrowed down so fast by practically reading my mind and figuring out exactly what I wanted.”
Categories: Completed Commissions, Daily Art
Tags: all rights reserved, calligraphy, commission, logo, pen and ink
1 Comment »
Recipe: Cheesy Meatloaf
Posted on March 28th, 2012
That’s right, words on Wednesdays means sometimes you will get random recipes again! I know you’re thrilled.
I would describe this meatloaf as delicious but also relentlessly savory — there is nothing sweet about this bad boy, but mmmm it’s good. The nice thing about meatloaf is it’s super easy.
- 20 oz package of ground turkey
- about the same amount of ground beef
- Salt (to taste)
- Pepper (to taste)
- dried Oregano/Basil/Coriander (to taste)
- 1.5 cups Italian breadcrumbs (not Panko, the boring kind in the cardboard can)
- 1 lb shredded cheese (I really like Kraft’s Triple Cheddar)
- 2 eggs
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Spray the inside of a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Mix together all the ingredients in a big bowl. Use your bare hands, or wear gloves to keep them clean. Be gentle, if you overmix you’ll end up with tough meatloaf, but you do want the ingredients all evenly distributed, too.
Bake until the center is at 155°F — I use one of those awesome probe thermometers that goes off when it hits temp, but if you don’t have such a thing, it takes about an hour usually. Cover with foil and sit out to rest for 10-15 minutes. Slice and nom.
Put the leftovers in the fridge as is, and in the morning you can just pull off all that fat that’s in the pool of liquid around the loaf, and then save the gelled gravy beneath for extra tasty noms later. Also, meatloaf sammiches. I’m just sayin’.
Categories: Daily Art, Words Words Words
Tags: cheese, recipe, sharpie
Tentacle Deeps 31
Posted on March 27th, 2012
Tentacle Deeps 31, watercolor by Amy Crook
I’m still enamored of these paints that are ghostly pale from some angles, and richly colored from others. This one looks like fine gilding from the right angle, but turns almost white and translucent from the wrong one. I couldn’t resist the idea of golden tentacles, though!
Tentacle Deeps 31, 4″x6″ watercolor on paper.
My camera picked up the golden color quite well, though I ended up leaving the background a little more purple than it is in reality because, well, it looks cool.
Tentacle Deeps 31, detail, by Amy Crook
The piece looks nice framed, below, with my usual iPhone for scale. I considered using a dollar, but then, I have no idea of my international readers (hi!) know how big a dollar is, and yet it’s safe to assume most of you have seen someone holding their iPhone. Weird.
Tentacle Deeps 31, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, gold, iridescent, purple, tentacle deeps, tentacles, watercolor
Forest Dragon
Posted on March 26th, 2012
Forest Dragon by Amy Crook, all rights reserved
I swear, this commission took all the time in the world, but I will admit I’m happy with the results. I was pretty sure I would be once I got it past the ass point, but you never really know until it’s all done. Molly is very happy indeed, and I hope she gets well soon so she can come collect it!
“All I had was the idea of a dragon in a forest and I was so lucky to have Amy bring what I really had in mind to life. And with the snap shots of the progress along the way I got to be more and more excited by the final result. The details of the scales are my favorite part.”
Forest Dragon, 24″x18″ oil paint on canvas, nfs (commission).
I’ve taken a bunch of detail shots for you, just so you can appreciate the awesomeness.
Forest Dragon, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see a close-up of the sun shining through the Dragon’s spines and onto the texture, iridescent scales. Below, another shot of sunlight, this time streaming through the trees and making the leaves appear translucent.
Forest Dragon, detail 2, by Amy Crook
Sunlight and shiny things are a bit of a theme, which is apropos for a dragon, I think.
Forest Dragon, detail 3, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the wings, which are translucent and let the trees behind them show faintly through, as well as the dragon’s ridges. Below, an oblique close-up of the tail so you can see the physical texture of the scales, and the more visual texture on the hoard of gold.
Forest Dragon, detail 4, by Amy Crook
If you’re considering a commission of your own, email me! I’ve got a few things in the queue already, but I’d be happy to talk about putting your painting next in line.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, commission, dragon, iridescent, nfs, oil paint, oil painting, tree
1 Comment »
Mycroft Holmes ink sketch
Posted on March 25th, 2012
Mycroft Holmes by Amy Crook
Mycroft was a little thank-you gift to someone, and he wanted to show off his dapper pose to you all. Have a great weekend!
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: mycroft, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock
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