Blog « Antemortem Arts | Art & Writing by Amy Crook

Reading Under a Tree

Posted on May 23rd, 2010

Reading Under a Tree by Amy Crook

Reading Under a Tree by Amy Crook

This is a little doodle I did thinking about one of my Works in Progress that’s kinda undecided about where I’m going with it. Right now it’s just a blue sky and some dark brown earth and nothing else, but I actually sort of like the effect all by itself. Still, I like this image with its loose lines and the arching tree over the studious figure.

I’ve always liked drawing trees, especially the leafless winter skeletons with all their intricate fractal shapes. It’s like jagged lace to see the bits of sky between the branches, the shadows reflecting inexact details warped by the ground’s topography.

Categories: Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: , , ,
5 Comments »


Shrinky Dink Doodles

Posted on May 22nd, 2010

Shrinky Dink Doodles by Amy Crook

Shrinky Dink Doodles by Amy Crook

A while back I picked up something quite nostalgic, a Klutz Press book for doing Shrinky Dinks. If you don’t know what those are, it’s a clear-ish plastic sheet that you draw on, then cut out shapes, put it in the oven, and watch it shrink down to a much smaller size. A childhood staple for me!

I was thinking of doing up some little charms for Etsy or just for myself, and I doodled up these half-dozen images for tracing with a sharpie onto the plastic. Then I could color them with sharpie or colored pencil, cut them out, and cook them in my little toaster oven. I’m sure I’ll get around to using some of the shrinky dink material someday, if only to amuse myself.

Got a favorite?

Categories: Daily Art
Tags: , , , , ,
2 Comments »


Sins of the Heart

Posted on May 21st, 2010

Sins of the Heart, detail, by Amy Crook

Sins of the Heart, detail, by Amy Crook

The third in the series of 3 related monoprints, this one moved entirely away from the flower metaphor and in a different direction. The shape is not quite a heart, not quite a pink triangle, and not quite a political statement. The watery blue background intrudes on all sides, blurring the edges and the metaphor alike.

This image is floating in the middle of a larger sheet of paper, slightly off-center and off-kilter like everything about this print.

Sins of the Heart by Amy Crook

Sins of the Heart by Amy Crook

Sins of the Heart, 3″x3″ monoprint on 7″x11.5″ watercolor paper.

The other two monoprints in the series are here and here.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: , , ,


Lotus

Posted on May 20th, 2010

Lotus, detail, by Amy Crook

Lotus, detail, by Amy Crook

The second monoprint in this series of 3, this one looks more like its namesake with the watery background and individual petals visible. You can even still see some of the brush strokes in the print, though other areas took on a soft, watery texture when run through the printing press. This single pink lotus flower floats in the center of a square sheet of paper with an equal amount of white space on all sides.

Lotus by Amy Crook

Lotus by Amy Crook

Lotus, 3″x3″ monoprint on 9″x9″ watercolor paper.

The other two monoprints in the series are here and here.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: , , ,


Blue Lotus

Posted on May 19th, 2010

Blue Lotus, detail, by Amy Crook

Blue Lotus, detail, by Amy Crook

I did a few monoprints along this vein, but I think this one was my favorite. Though named for a blue lotus, it always looked a bit more like a morning glory to me, just opening up for the day with dew dripping off the blue petals. The small 3-inch-square image floats on a larger sheet of paper, a single blossom in a pool of white.

Blue Lotus by Amy Crook

Blue Lotus by Amy Crook

Blue Lotus, 3″x3″ monoprint on 6″x11.5″ watercolor paper.

The other two monoprints in the series are here and here.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes
Tags: , , ,


Graveyard

Posted on May 18th, 2010

Graveyard by Amy Crook

Graveyard by Amy Crook

If you’re at all into genre fiction & television, you might want to click this one to read the headstones. I was feeling pretty silly, so there’s a bunch of silly pop culture references lurking in amongst the uneasy dead. Note the dandelion, the black cat, and of course the zombie hand bursting up out of Mr. Addams’ grave.

Graveyard, 5″x7″ pen and ink on watercolor paper.

Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Card Design, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags:
4 Comments »


Untitled Experiment 1

Posted on May 17th, 2010

Untitled Experiment 1 by Amy Crook

Untitled Experiment 1 by Amy Crook

I painted this a few years back when I was experimenting with a lot of different styles. In this one there’s a lot of visual texture, as well as a bit of gloss in the periwinkle rectangle from the painting medium that also gave it its transparency. People have asked me what it’s supposed to be or mean, and I have to admit that I just liked the way it looks. I like that something as simple as four overlapping rectangles gets a lot of complexity from little brush strokes, variations in color and opacity and even the softness of the edges.

This piece isn’t edge-finished yet, but I plan to paint over the white edges & staples with black so it could be hung without a frame. Well, I hang it without a frame anyway, but I’m special like that.

Untitled Experiment 1, 18″x24″ oil on canvas.

Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Daily Art
Tags: , , , ,


« Or Head Back That Way Drip divider More Art This Way »