Goth Christmas Tree
Posted on November 15th, 2010
Goth Christmas Tree by Amy Crook
It’s that time of year, and I’ve been working on holiday card designs. In addition to my usual stock of Lovecraftian horrors, I decided to do a cheerfully morbid Christmas tree. Skulls adorn the branches and it’s topped with an eye-tipped vine. There’s a bloodstained package among the gifts under the tree, and the curly, swirly, tentacle-ish branches are reaching down to help distribute them.
You can pick up some of these cards for your own holidays at Etsy, or buy the original below.
Goth Christmas Tree, 5″x7″ pen and ink on watercolor paper.
Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Tentacles, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: christmas, for sale, holiday card, pen and ink
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Bronze Roses
Posted on November 13th, 2010
3 Bronze Roses, detail 1, by Amy Crook
I made these roses using the lost wax casting method; each one started life as a dried long-stemmed rose, which I dipped in wax and made ready for casting. The process only worked about 25% of the time, because of the long thin stem the metal had to travel to get to the solid flower, and the leaves almost never cast.
I left the bits of flash and other imperfections on them as part of their character, the human element intervening in nature long enough to create these haunting pieces. The element of randomness is one I enjoy exploring in my art, and you can really see how it gave these roses a new life.
They get their color from a chemical patina, another process involving water and fire that has slowly evolved over time thanks to exposure to the air and handling.
I’ve sold all of the half dozen or so that I originally made, but maybe someday I’ll be in a position to create more.
3 Bronze Roses by Amy Crook
Categories: Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: bronze, nfs, rose, sold
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Whispering Gremlin for Jo VanEvery
Posted on November 11th, 2010
Whispering Gremlin by Amy Crook,
commission for Jo VanEvery
all rights reserved
When Jo VanEvery came to me asking if I would help create an illustration for her presentation in November, I was excited to draw something new. We went back and forth on just what a gremlin looked like, and we ended up with this little green guy whispering wicked self-doubt into the ear of his human.
This naughty boy likes to undermine his human’s confidence and sow the seeds of indecision, especially in grad students.
Since this is a commissioned piece, all rights are reserved, and it may not be reposted or reused anywhere, except by Jo, of course. Thanks!
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, commission, copic marker, gremlin, jo vanevery, pen and ink
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Weeble Wednesday: Zombie
Posted on November 10th, 2010
Weeble Zombie by Amy Crook
This morbid fellow is another one of the bonus zombies from my Cthulhu coloring book. I originally had drawn a bunch of these guys for another purpose, but somehow they never got finished until I needed them for the coloring book. Still, I do love the details on this one, from his missing arm to the skull logo on his shoe.
Weeble Zombie, 5″x7″ pen, ink and Copic markers on watercolor paper.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: copic marker, for sale, pen and ink, weeble, zombie
Chocolate Spice Drops
Posted on November 9th, 2010
This recipe is used with permission from my friend Ellen Fremedon.
I’ve m
ade these several times and they’re always awesome — you can put in whatever assortment of spices you want, but I definitely recommend the fresh ginger and pepper both to get a good bite from the spice.
The texture of these cookies is very soft and cakelike, so they don’t keep for very long, but that’s not usually a problem. They store best in shallow tupperware, with parchment paper between layers to keep them from sticking.
6 Tbsp strong spiced tea (I used Republic of Tea Cardamom Cinnamon, but any black or herbal spice tea would probably work.)
1 cup white sugar
1 stick butter
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp minced ginger (grated, not powdered, but pre-grated from the produce section is fine)
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup good-quality cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each ground cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and black pepper
Dash of cloves, allspice
Cream together butter and sugar, then add egg, vanilla, and fresh ginger. Mix together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and spices. I like to use a whisk for this step to break up lumps, especially in the cocoa.
Blend dry ingredients, wet ingredients, and the tea. Drop by spoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 F for 12-13 minutes. The cookies will puff up in the middle.
Categories: Daily Art, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: food, recipe, sharpie marker
Marbled Eye
Posted on November 8th, 2010
Marbled Eye by Amy Crook
Years ago and miles away I learned a little bit about making marbled papers, the kind used in the endpapers of wonderful old books. While dropping in colour to try to make a pattern, something interesting formed, and I captured it before it could be disrupted — a perfect eye in the middle of all the random swirls.
Sometimes, art is about knowing when to stop at accidental beauty.
Marbled Eye, 8.5″x11″ marbling on paper, not for sale.
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: marbling, nfs, paper
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