Tentacle Deeps 14
Posted on September 6th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 14 by Amy Crook
Just when you thought the tentacles were slumbering, my Tentacle Deeps series is back! I’ve had a few more ideas for them niggling in the back of my head, and this is the first of at least two new additions to the series. This one, despite the look, is entirely done with ink pens and water, no paint involved. I used brushes dipped in plain water to create the visual effects and the second layer of tentacles. There’s a hint of the original pen lines in each tentacle, fore- and background, and subtle colors are hiding in the black, added with scribbles of blue and purple before the water was applied.
Tentacle Deeps 14, 5″x7″ pen, brush and ink on paper.
Tentacle Deeps 14, detail, by Amy Crook
You can see some of the texture here in the above detail shot, and the soft variations of blue, green, and purple hiding in the black. Below, you can see how the simple black frame looks with the tentacles inside.
Tentacle Deeps 14, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: brush and ink, for sale, green, pen and ink, tentacle deeps
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Confetti Rain
Posted on September 5th, 2011
Confetti Rain by Amy Crook
When I started this piece, I was experimenting to see if I could fill a whole paper with the salt-crystal rosettes the way rain on a puddle fills up the whole surface with overlapping shapes. After a while it was hard to get even a tiny rosette to form without the water running and blurring into the already-formed structures. The different shades of blue ink ended up giving it a party-confetti feel, and that with the sparkle from the salt gives the piece its name.
Confetti Rain, 5″x5″ pen and ink and salt on paper
The paper itself is a warm off-white color that’s hard to photograph — for some reason it often shows up quite red when compared to the cool blue ink and sparkling salt.
Confetti Rain, detail 1, by Amy Crook
Still, I love the way the salt catches the light and seems to glow from within, as well as the up-close view of the textures of crystal growth and rough, soft paper.
Confetti Rain, detail 2, by Amy Crook
A simple black frame will keep the salt crystals safe while the piece is in transit, and provide a contrast to the splashes of color on the page.
Confetti Rain, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: blue, for sale, pen and ink, salt
Return of the Son of Coloring Book Doodles
Posted on September 3rd, 2011
Tentacle doodle by Amy Crook
I don’t always remember to scan these in after I do them, so it’s been a while since I had any to post. The last few coloring books I’ve sold, I doodled in the tentacles above, and a random silly Sherlock, below.
Sherlock doodle by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: coloring book, doodle, nfs, pen and ink, sherlock
Mud Puddle
Posted on September 2nd, 2011
Mud Puddle by Amy Crook, $444
This is one of the last of my tea experiments from a few months ago. I had the piece sitting around for weeks and weeks not really being anything, until one day I was in a crosshatching mood and suddenly I saw it as a mud puddle just needing a grassy lawn all around it. The puddle itself was made of strong black tea, and the spots of texture were big crystals of salt, some of which had a bit of watercolor left on them to add a touch of color to the tea.
Mud Puddle, 5″x5″ mixed media on paper, $444, framed, with free shipping.
I spent a couple of hours putting in the green pen-and-ink grass around the tea puddle, and I took photos with my iPhone as it progressed (though I forgot to take a before shot, oops).
Mud Puddle, work in progress, by Amy Crook
When I’m working on a piece like this, I often spin it this way and that while I’m working to get a better angle for whatever I’m doing. Then, if it’s an abstract piece, I look at it in all four directions before I decide on which way is really up and sign it.
Mud Puddle, detail, by Amy Crook
There’s a bit of subtle sparkle in the area where some of the salt sat, but the chunks remained mostly intact instead of dissolving into the tea, so there’s no crystal formations beyond the tiny ones you can see above.
The frame I’ve got it in is a little lighter than it shows in the photo, though I’m considering one even a shade lighter to go better with the delicate tea-dyed puddle.
Mud Puddle, framed, by Amy Crook, $444
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: crosshatching, for sale, pen and ink, salt, tea, watercolor
Salted Squid 2
Posted on August 30th, 2011
Salted Squid 2 by Amy Crook
Tentacle Tuesday is back with a sequel to the whimsical Salted Squid 1. I wanted to do something more controlled, so I scribbled out a complete squid in green pen and then went over it with water and a brush, and sprinkled the resulting pool with salt. You can see the pen lines still there as darker shadows in the larger shape, and so I decided to stay with that pen-and-ink feeling for the background.
I used two different colors of pen on the background to simulate sunlight shining down fro above, and then left blank circles like bubbles rising up. Then, I used plain water again, this time without the salt, to give a soft, watercolor feeling to the shafts of sunlight, and the darker depths at the bottom.
Salted Squid 2, 7″x5″ salt, pen and ink on watercolor paper.
You can see the even layer of sparkling crystals that make up the body of the squid here, along with some detail on the close pen-and-ink lines.
Salted Squid 2, detail, by Amy Crook
The black frame with its glass gives the feeling of looking into an aquarium, or so I like to tell myself. He looks adorable on my bookshelf, anyway.
Salted Squid 2, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: crosshatching, for sale, pen and ink, salt, squid, tentacles
Weeble April Winchell
Posted on August 29th, 2011
Weeble April Winchell cartoon by Amy Crook
Sorry about the silence, I wasn’t feeling well at the end of last week. So, we’re starting the week with a Weeble!
April’s Army is an Etsy Street Team of fans of the site Regretsy.com. Every month, they take donations and open up the April’s Army Etsy shop with all manner of wacky crafts. This is my first contribution, the incomparable April Winchell (also known as Helen Killer on the site) done up in her most “whimsicle” finery and cartooned as a weeble.
I’m donating 5 cards and the original, because what says “I’m thinking of you” better than weeble fuckery?
Weeble April Winchell for April's Army charity shop by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: cartoon, charity, copic marker, etsy, pen and ink, regretsy, weeble
Blood from a Stone 2
Posted on August 25th, 2011
Blood from a Stone 2 by Amy Crook, $323
The vivid, rich fuchsia in this piece, against the backdrop of soft black-brown bloodstone watercolor, couldn’t help but remind me of my cartoon of Kristine and her awesome pink-streaked hair. Despite that, I decided to stick with the horror theme from Tuesday’s art and name it after the bloodstone paint.
Blood from a Stone 2, 7″x5″ mixed media on paper, $323, framed, with free shipping.
The vivid pink — which is as close to red as I’ve gotten so far, using dense swirls of blood-red ink — makes this piece extra special hell to photograph. I do love how the salt crystals look like candy here, though I wouldn’t advise trying to lick them.
Blood from a Stone 2, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I totally dig the little ziggurat formations that I sometimes get, though I have no idea how to create them on purpose.
Blood from a Stone 2, detail 2, by Amy Crook
It looks great in its black frame, the pink is gorgeously vivid and the soft, matte paint provides a lovely contrast.
Blood from a Stone 2, framed, by Amy Crook, $323
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: bloodstone, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
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