Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Morning After

Posted on May 6th, 2019

Morning After by Amy Crook, a watercolor pastel sunrise against a panoramic foreground of smoking ruins

Morning After, 8″x4″ watercolor on paper

The sky holds the softness of spring, the delicacy of an Easter egg, the gentlest of sunrises. In front of these lovely colors, there are smoking ruins, the aftermath of some mystery calamity. Carrion birds wheel and turn on the thermals, looking for a choice meal among the destruction. The pall of smoke hanging over the burnt-out husks is no deterrent to the scavengers.

There’s a curious juxtaposition with the grey-green ruins backed by the seashell pink, baby-chick yellow, and robin’s egg blue of the sky.

Morning After, detail, by Amy Crook

Morning After, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the delicate, tiny brushstrokes that make up each hollow, destroyed building. Below, the carrion birds circle and swoop inside their temporary frame.

Morning After, framed art by Amy Crook

Morning After, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
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Looking Down at the Moon

Posted on May 5th, 2019

Looking Down at the Moon by Amy Crook, an abstract watercolor of a golden harvest moon on a blue background

Looking Down at the Moon, 9″x12″ watercolor on paper

At first glance it almost seems like a reflection of moonlight on a puddle of water.

But then the moon itself, that mysterious harvest-gold disk, is free of the ripples haloing it. And it seems to float just below them, as though one has managed to stand atop the skip and gaze down upon it from a great height indeed.

Or perhaps the moon is trapped in a well like some fairy tale, waiting for someone to give her a hand in exchange for a wish.

Looking Down at the Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Looking Down at the Moon, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the layered waves and ripples of color — the gold here is probably the most accurate of all the photos, though the blue is more accurate in the framed photo, below. Ah, gamut issues.

Looking Down at the Moon, framed art by Amy Crook

Looking Down at the Moon, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery
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Let Me Dance

Posted on May 4th, 2019

Let Me Dance by Amy Crook, a blue and purple abstract watercolor with a quote

Let Me Dance, 12″x12″ watercolor on paper

Aglow is a series of abstracts with a sense of light to them, each containing a quote of some kind.

Sometimes the quote comes first, but more often the palette arrives on a whim, the painting proceeds into swirling, swooping color, and then words are the last piece of the puzzle.

This one called for a quote from a Robert Plant & Jimmy Page song, “give me peace of mind and let me dance.”

Let Me Dance, detail, by Amy Crook

Let Me Dance, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see a close-up of the hand-painted lettering in all its spiky glory. Below, you can see it waiting in a frame, ready to be sent off to live on someone’s wall.

Let Me Dance, framed art by Amy Crook

Let Me Dance, framed art by Amy Crook

PS – May the Fourth be with you!

…and also with you.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
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Bees 5

Posted on May 3rd, 2019

Bees 5 by Amy Crook, acrylic ink painting of busy bees on a semi-abstract honeycomb pattern

Bees 5, 7″x5″ acrylic ink on paper

Experimental bees! Acrylic ink is lightfast and dries waterproof, and these bees were the perfect test subject for a new medium.

The loose honeycomb make a gorgeous background for the painterly scribble of a busy hive of bees. They’re mostly concentrated in the corner where all the honey is, with the rest of the comb slowly floating off and away into the aether, adding a surrealist quality to the piece.

Bees 5, detail, by Amy Crook

Bees 5, detail, by Amy Crook

Above you can see these cheerful little bees against the soft cream paper and golden hexes. Below, these fellows are buzzing around in their own frame, just like in a proper hive.

Bees 5, framed art by Amy Crook

Bees 5, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books
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Moon Landing

Posted on May 2nd, 2019

Moon Landing by Amy Crook, watercolor painting of a crow landing on a bare branch under a daylight moon

Moon Landing, 9″x12″ Primatek watercolor on paper

This started with a palette and a sky, and the tree grew in complexity and reached out just asking for a bird to alight on its outstretched branch. There’s a dim daytime moon just barely visible in the upper left corner, inspiring the punny name.

This painting has a really delightful, eerie quality with its soft sky and stark tree. The black bird has a beautiful organic quality to the motion of its feathers, and the reach of its feet. It looks like the branch is beckoning it in for a landing, for good or ill.

Moon Landing, Detail, by Amy Crook

Moon Landing, Detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the crow up close in all its gloomy glory. Below, this painting is in a frame, showing off its size by being almost as tall as the writing desk’s cubbies.

Moon Landing, framed art by Amy Crook

Moon Landing, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals
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Shiny Magikarp

Posted on March 28th, 2019

a golden shiny magikarp leaping upward above a tiny pond far below, by Amy Crook

Shiny Magikarp, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper

Magikarp Jump is the most ridiculous game ever, and of course I had to celebrate the warm golden shiny with another commission from my Pokemon patron. This guy has a great height up above his tiny pond, so let’s hope he gets the best leap and doesn’t end up in a sad little pit.

Categories: Completed Commissions, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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Swablus

Posted on March 26th, 2019

blue and gold Swablus cuddling on a branch, by Amy Crook

Swablus, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper

My Pokemon commission patron has refreshed his list with a new batch of shiny goodness, and we’re starting with this adorable pair of Swablu, They look nice together in the non-shiny blue and shiny gold, hanging out and snuggling up in the chill spring night.

These two will make an adorable Valentine when the time comes, don’t you think?

Categories: Card Design, Completed Commissions, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
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