Flying Pig
Posted on May 2nd, 2010
Flying Pig by Amy Crook
One of my clients has a flying pig as their mascot. I recently did this card for one of the owners’ birthdays, just a little doodle with watercolor straight onto the blank card. I did a more elaborate version with a Santa hat for them for Christmas, but forgot to get a good picture of it. At least I managed to preserve this little piggy for posterity!
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
Tags: brush and ink, nfs, watercolor
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Arch the Sky
Posted on April 30th, 2010
Arch the Sky by Amy Crook
Arch the Sky is one of my favorite pieces. It hangs above my work station in a simple silver frame, which echoes the silver streaks in the painting. This was painted without a reference, inspired by the art on the covers of the original paperback editions of Storm Constantine’s Wraethuthu series. There was something about the graceful art with its obvious brush strokes that really spoke to me.
I tried to really emphasize the contrast between the smooth curve of his back, and the rough texture of the background and foreground, while still allowing them to interact with each other. The rain-like streaks were put in at the very end with oil paint sticks, and really added to the effect by connecting the figure to the background.
There is a sense of worship in the figure’s expression, the peace of belonging to and reverence for nature, for the sky and rain and earth and the environment he’s in.
This piece is fully framed, and ready to hang.
Arch the Sky, 16″x24″, oil on artboard.
Categories: Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: for sale, oil painting
Meet Carol’s Monster, Bernie
Posted on April 29th, 2010
Carol’s Monster Bernie by Amy Crook
I’d like you all to meet Bernie. He’s a little shy about his name, but we all know that even a Bernie can have a brave heart. He’s Carol’s bodyguard, and he helps keep things from hurting her. His helmet’s a little crooked, and his axe needs a bit of a sharpening, but he’s got a heart of gold — you can see it right there on his armor!
Bernie is Carol’s Monster, the first completed one from my Draw Your Monster sale a few weeks ago. As part of my Big Art Sale (to help me get to my 72-year-old Mom’s suddenly-moved-up wedding in 3 weeks), I’m offering them again, so if you missed out and wanted one, now’s the time.
As a note, since Bernie’s a commission, he’s not actually available for redistribution under the CC license mentioned below — all his rights and permissions belong to Carol now.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art
Tags: all rights reserved, cartoon, commission, copic marker, monster, nfs, pen and ink
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Sad Simon
Posted on April 28th, 2010
Sad Simon by Amy Crook
I’ve had a few different models over the years, and this was one of the first. I spent several afternoons just taking photos of him, a lot of them in b&w, and used one of them as a reference on this piece. Though my talent was never really in photography, I still have some of those photographs, and his face or figure shows up from time to time in pieces I’m working on.
I remember sitting crosslegged with this page tacked to the wall in front of me, the photo to one side, and only two colors of pastel to use, the very pale blue and dark blue with a tinge of green, to provide shadow and light on the middle blue ground. I used to work like that for hours, and at the end when I finished the piece, there was a fine layer of chalk dust on the carpet right below — oops!
I have given this piece several titles over the years, and this is the one that it seems to come back to. The wistful, pensive expression on Simon’s face matches well with the blue chalks, and doesn’t seem to need extra words to convey its essential meaning.
This piece is fully framed, and ready to hang.
Sad Simon, 19″x25″, pastel on colored paper in metal frame.
Categories: Daily Art, People, Figures and Faces
Tags: blue, for sale, pastel, portrait
Adam the Earth Elemental
Posted on April 27th, 2010
Adam the Earth Elemental by Amy Crook
Today’s sketch is a character from an original story I’m working on, an earth elemental named Adam. He’s got the ability to disappear into a pot of earth and reappear out of another one elsewhere, traveling through his element. He’s only about half a meter tall, and quite wide and stocky for that height, with no hair to speak of, or a belly button, which I had to remind myself of because I kept wanting to put one in. It’s an interesting challenge to draw a character who’s humanish without being actually human, because the urge to correct this or that is hard to resist!
I’m really working on my perfectionism with this one, because as soon as I scanned it I could see things I didn’t like, but sketches like this aren’t really finished pieces, so I left it as is.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art
Tags: nfs, sketch
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Fish Man
Posted on April 26th, 2010
Fish Man by Amy Crook
This piece was entirely inspired by reading Koldo Barosso’s wonderful blog posts on the process of creating an album cover. The flying fish with a man’s face stuck with me, and the image of this man stuck in my head until I got up late one night and drew him, coloring his scales on a couple of subsequent late nights, using some old colored pencils. Something about the shape of his nose, the angle of elbow and arm and hand against his fishy body called out to be brought to life, and I just couldn’t not draw him, once his image popped into my mind.
Categories: Whimsical and Strange
Tags: colored pencil, nfs
Cthulhu Egg
Posted on April 25th, 2010
Cthulhu Egg by Amy Crook
I wanted to make some Easter-ish cards this year, but I found myself resisting the idea of hearts and flowers and happy little bunnies. So, after doing a more standard Easter egg sort of card, I allowed myself to do something a little more to my own tastes.
This image is extremely loosely based on the works of HP Lovecraft, and the horrific Elder God Cthulhu, who waits and slumbers in R’lyeh, down under the vasty deeps. Mostly it’s just a little tentacle monster hatching to give someone an unpleasant surprise.
Cthulhu Egg, 4″x6″ watercolor on a watercolor postcard, sold.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Daily Art, Tentacles
Tags: cthulhu, lovecraft, monster, nfs, sold, watercolor
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