Random Recipe: Cardamom Milk
Posted on April 20th, 2017
I found a great place to buy green cardamom, and then went hunting for this recipe, which makes a wonderful, warm bedtime treat.
- 2 cups milk
- 8 cardamom pods, cracked open
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-3 cloves*
- 6-8 slices of candied ginger*
*Optional — if you do use candied ginger, you might want to reduce the honey a bit to keep it from being too sweet. I know it seems like a lot of spices, but since you don’t boil them, it takes more to get the same flavor as in tea.
In a small saucepan, heat everything but the vanilla, stirring constantly. Once the milk is steaming hot but not boiling, remove from heat, add vanilla, and cover. Let steep for 5 minutes, then strain out the spices and serve.
I usually add the ginger back to the cup before serving, yum.
Categories: Things I'm a Fan Of, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: copic marker, nfs, pen and ink, recipe
30 Day Marker Challenge, part 2
Posted on April 18th, 2017
The amazing Sadynax gave herself a 30-day Marker Challenge last month, and I decided to do it for April to help get back in the swing of art after my surgery.
I’m giving my wonderful Patreon supporters some bonuses at the $5+ sketch levels this month, so it’s a good time to become a patron!
Day 11: Redo one of your old copic works.
Day 12: Shade white cloth without using any grey markers.
Day 13: Color ombre.
Day 14: Use at least 10 colors.
Day 15: No lineart.
Day 16: Draw something metallic.
Day 17: Make space/cosmos.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, People, Figures and Faces, Pretty Words, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Tentacles, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: 30 day marker challenge, addams family, arthur, cocktail, copic marker, food, inception, pen and ink, pencil, purrito, quartermaster, tentacles, word art
30 Day Marker Challenge, part 1
Posted on April 11th, 2017
The amazing Sadynax gave herself a 30-day Marker Challenge last month, and I decided to do it for April to help get back in the swing of art after my surgery. Each day had its own weird quirks, and I think I already know which one I’m gonna redo for day 30, haha.
I’m giving my wonderful Patreon supporters some bonuses at the $5+ sketch levels this month, so it’s a good time to become a patron!
Day 1: Use only one color.
Day 2: Choose 3 colors blindly.
Day 3: Use only gray tones (Copics C, N, W)
Day 4: Use complementary colors
Day 5: Use only the markers’ wide tip end.
Day 6: Use only one color family.
Day 6: Use only markers that end with 3.
Day 8: Choose 2 colors blindly.
Day 9: Use only 00, 000, & 0000 markers.
Day 10: Color skin without using any E, R, or YR markers.
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Completed Commissions, Daily Art, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Nudes and Other Sexy Things, People, Figures and Faces, Sea Creatures and Other Animals, Whimsical and Strange, Zombies, Skulls, and Other Morbid Things
Tags: 30 day marker challenge, book, cat, copic marker, food, mermaid, pen and ink, pencil
Snow Angel Eames & Murder Mal
Posted on April 6th, 2017
Snow Angel Eames and Murder Mal, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
Have you been Incepted yet?
Eames has paused his mad rush to the center of the maze on the 3rd level of the dream to make a snow angel, because he can. And there’s murderous, lovely Mal, in her pretty dress from the first dream, hiding something a bit pointy behind her back. Watch out for that one!
Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: chibi, copic marker, eames, inception, mal, nfs, pen and ink, sold
Skeptical Saito & Hallway Arthur
Posted on April 4th, 2017
Skeptical Saito and Hallway Arthur, 7″x5″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper
I have fallen into Limbo, aka Inception fandom, and I have no regrets. Here we have Saito in his delicious tux from the first dream, and Arthur in his beautiful blue suit from the famous 0G hallway fight (pose inspired by Powerpuff Girls, of course). These were a birthday commission for a friend of a friend, and I’m very happy to have been able to not only give a gift to her, but to the fandom, for secret reasons.
Categories: Completed Commissions, People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Things I'm a Fan Of
Tags: arthur, chibi, copic marker, inception, nfs, pen and ink, saito, sold
Mirage
Posted on March 8th, 2017
Mirage, 8″x10″ watercolor on Arches cover buff paper
Endless-seeming dunes give way near the top to the illusion of water. The warm buff paper breaks through the dull sparkle of yellow rust and copper. The caress of wind over sand exposes variations in shape, color and texture as a muted shine is revealed behind the amber waves.
The Pathways series is turned its side here, trading trees for earth and skies for an endless search for the horizon. The mirage adds a bright pop against the rich layers of sand and ochre and copper.
If you dream of sun and sand and sparkling water, this painting will bring a little piece of that into your everyday life.
Mirage, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see the sunlight catching the copper, which only appears at certain angles in amongst the sandy ochres and golds. Below, I’ve trapped the mirage behind glass, so you can safely contemplate eternity without losing yourself in the dunes.
Mirage, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Abstract and Just Plain Weird, Floating Gallery, Series and Books
Tags: for sale, gold, interference, pathways, primatek, watercolor
Fairytale Cottage
Posted on March 7th, 2017
Fairytale Cottage, 6″x6″ watercolor and gel pen on Fluid watercolor paper
Calling to mind the darker side of fairytales, this shadowy cottage lurks against a rainy sky. The brightness of white clouds and gingerbread detailing is almost unsettling in it sweetness, with everything around it muted and grey.
In a strange reversal, only the frothy white curlicues look solid, while the house and sky seem like mere shadows behind the spirals.
What’s your favorite fairytale, and which ending do you prefer?
Fairytale Cottage, detail, by Amy Crook
Above, you can see up close the slightly raised spirals on the buildings and the softly receding spirals of the clouds, decorating the shadowy secrets held by this confectionary cottage. Below, the frame becomes a window into a dark fairy tale world.
Fairytale Cottage, framed art by Amy Crook
Categories: Angels, Cthulhu, and Other Myths, Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Whimsical and Strange
Tags: clouds, for sale, gel pen, spirals, watercolor
« Or Head Back That Way
More Art This Way »
