Tentacle Deeps 7
Posted on March 29th, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 7 by Amy Crook
This piece most closely reflects the very first Tentacle Deeps watercolor I did, I think –the same paper, no fancy salt or pen-and-ink effects, just the layers of watercolored tentacles reaching up from the bottom of the page. The wash was a bit more layered and random, and whenever a tentacle “breaks through” the upper right corner, there’s a little bit of a skip as though it’s breaching the surface of a pool, or slipping between realities.
Tentacle Deeps 7, 5″x7″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Tentacle Deeps 7, framed, by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, green, tentacle deeps, watercolor
Texture in Brown
Posted on March 28th, 2011
Texture in Brown by Amy Crook
Everything about this piece is a combination of deliberation and randomness, letting my choice of materials dictate the final product.
I didn’t like this when I started it out, at first just the red-brown leaf shape at the center of the page. then I added the redder wash down at the bottom, and an even softer red wash in the upper area, and used salt to give a rough texture to the lower area. I let that dry and sit a few days before coming back to it with a quill and some ink that used to be black, but has aged in its bottle to a soft, walnut brown. The quill caught and stuttered on the rough paper, giving the lines a rough look as the ink bled.
I think the end result looks like some sort of landscape, each piece working together to create a rich field of texture and earthy color.
Texture in Brown, 7″x5″ watercolor and pen and ink on watercolor paper, $129 with free shipping.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: brown, for sale, pen and ink, salt, watercolor
Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant
Posted on March 26th, 2011
Twining Snakes Volant, detail, by Amy Crook
This bright green Moleskine Volant notebook has been hand-decorated with a pair of twining snakes using Sharpie markers. A black snake is biting his own tail in a double-looped ouroboros while his green friend slithers suggestively through his loops.
Moleskine’s colorful notebooks are ideal for customization, turning the high-quality book into a work of art in which to wrap your ideas. The acid-free ruled paper is a creamy ivory color, and a delight to write on. The large size Volants have 96 pages between their soft vinyl covers. The design is in permanent Sharpie, and should last as long as the notebook it’s drawn on.
Twining Snakes, 5″x8.25″ customized Moleskine Volant notebook, nfs (sold).
Twining Snakes Moleskine Volant by Amy Crook
Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books
Tags: green, moleskine, nfs, sharpie marker, snakes, sold
4 Comments »
Yarr! Bonus Michael
Posted on March 25th, 2011
Yarr! Bonus Michael by Amy Crook
I turned Michael into a cartoon a while back, and since he’s been a completely awesome programmer for me, I couldn’t resist tossing this little 10-minute bonus doodle into his package. I’m reliably informed he doesn’t actually have a wooden leg, he just wanted his avatar to be more piratey.
And really, who wouldn’t want to be more piratey? Well, aside from Ninjas…
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, nfs, pen and ink
Impact
Posted on March 24th, 2011
Impact by Amy Crook
Paper and paint both matter a lot to how the salt affects the work, and this one actually went through several iterations of paint and salt. The more opaque of the Japanese sumi-e inks don’t seem to react as dramatically, but you can get some subtle texturing out of it. The more transparent inks run and pool, but this paper has a different absorbency than the one I used for Salt Cell, so the paint tends to dry much faster, giving it lest time to change the landscape of the colors.
Impact, 7″x5″ watercolor on watercolor paper, sold.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird
Tags: blue, circle, green, nfs, salt, sold, watercolor
2 Comments »
Weeble Wednesday: Kristine Beeson
Posted on March 23rd, 2011
Kristine Beeson Cartoon by Amy Crook
Kristine Beeson, also known as kadyellebee on Etsy, is a wonderful knitter of shawls and other lovely things. When our paths crossed and she expressed a wistful interest in being made into a Cartoon, I took the opportunity to offer her barter — a shawl for a cartoon! She helped me choose the perfect yarn (a warm, lightweight blackberry-colored cotton), and got right to work so I’d have my shawl while winter was still upon us. I was a bit slower, but I’ve finally finished up her cartoon (alas, I was waiting on marker refills).
She sent me some great photos of herself and her cheeky grin, not to mention her favorite outfit, and despite a bit of a struggle to get my scanner to accept the idea of hot pink, this is a pretty good representation of her and her gorgeous pink-striped hair. She asked for her ubiquitous iPhone, but I couldn’t resist slipping some pink knitting needles into the image, as well.
The pattern she knitted for me is called wren, and you can see her very own wren shawl on her cartoon above, in a soft mossy green that goes great with her eyes. Mine’s a dark purple that’s not quite black, but looks great where it lives on my blue chair, waiting for me to get cold while I’m working. It’s just light enough for me to forget I’m wearing it, but it keeps the cold off my aching shoulders.
Wren Shawl by Kristine Beeson
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, copic marker, nfs, pen and ink, weeble
7 Comments »
Tentacle Deeps 6
Posted on March 22nd, 2011
Tentacle Deeps 6 by Amy Crook
When I did the first one of these, I had no idea it would turn into a series that helps me explore all the techniques I’ve been working with this year.
For the sixth installment, I’ve used salt both on the background wash, and then separately on the tentacles themselves later. The places where the background is textured from the salt are subtle, the most obvious one being the cell-like structure in the upper left. The tentacles, on the other hand, have a strange mottled texture that definitely gives them a bit more dimension. There was also a bit of color bleed on the lower edge, which seems to be another side effect of the salt, giving the paints a powdery texture once it dries that then dusts itself onto the white when I brush the salt crystals away.
Tentacle Deeps 6, 5″x7″ watercolor on watercolor paper.
Tentacle Deeps 6, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Series and Books, Tentacles
Tags: for sale, salt, tentacle deeps, turquoise, watercolor
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
